St Brigid to be honoured with public holiday

The Government has decided to add a new public holiday to the national calendar to honour the country’s female patron, St Brigid of Kildare.

The fifth century abbess, who is one of the country’s three patron saints along with St Patrick and St Columba, founded several monasteries of nuns and her feastday takes place on February 1, marked by many people as the traditional first day of Spring.

Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare and Leighlin, where St Brigid founded her largest monastic settlement, had backed calls for the female saint to be honoured on the civil calendar. Several Kildare-based Oireachtas members also voiced support for the proposal.

The new holiday will be in addition to the national commemoration of St Patrick’s Day which falls on March 17 and is also a public holiday. However, as a one-off in 2022, St Patrick’s Day will have an extra holiday on March 18 making it a two-day celebration as a special ‘thank you’ to frontline healthcare workers for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government also announced today (Wednesday) that all healthcare workers would receive a once-off tax-free bonus of €1,000 for their work during the pandemic. It comes as health officials are expected to announce a lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions this week which will see a phased return to normal over the next nine months as rates of infection continue to fall and the country has achieved the highest vaccination rate in Europe.