Saint Saint Bríga

Saint Bríga (Brigid, Bridget) (fl. 6th century) is venerated as foundress of the monastery of Oughter Ard in Ardclough County Kildare . Her feast day is 21 January. Bríga is also associated with Brideschurch near Sallins , and possibly with Kilbride in County Waterford . She is described as "Brigid daughter of Congal" in Professor Brian O'Looney's Irish Life of the Saint pages 21 and 22. In the fifth life of Brigid, she is said to have lived in the Leinster province and been "mother or superioress over a monastery and its nuns, who were servants of Christ." That the friendship continued is alluded to in the Lives of Saint Brigid. John Colgan writes in his translation of the sixth life of St Brigid that "in this life the place where these incidents are referred to is not mentioned." Briga is sometimes confused with Brigit of Kildare daughter of Dubhthach, the famous St Brigid whose feast day was 1 February St Brigid, daughter of Doma, whose feast day was 7 February or the earlier St Brigid, daughter of Neman, also associated with Kildare and said to have been veiled by St Patrick, whose feast day was 9 March (Seathrún Céitinn's History of Ireland 1841 edition edited by Dermod O'Connor lists 14 Saints gleaned from the martyrologies and heroic literature each called Brigid, not including Bríga or Brigit of Kildare). The Martyrology of Donegal lists Brighit daughter of Diomman (feast day 21 May), Brighit of Moin-miolain (feast day on 9 March), and what may be five more: Brigid the daughter of Leinin (associated with Killiney, feast day 6 March), Brighit of Cillmuine (12 November), Brighe of Cairbre (feast day 7 January). and two other Brighits (feast days 9 March, the second Brigit of that date, and 30 Sept).