7th February, 2024
On foot of the celebration last week of Brigid 1500, Cllr Quinn is anxious that Kildare County Council explore the opportunities for spiritual tourism that County Kildare affords.
Brigid, who in all her different forms – Goddess, pre-Reformation Saint, wise woman and embodiment of the divine feminine – appeals to a broad range of potential visitors, already attracts a large number of people to the County, in particular to Kildare town where there are sites associated with her. In addition to historical sites such as the Cathedral and fire temple and St Brigid’s Well, the likes of Solas Bhríde, a retreat centre and set of hermitages set on the edge of the Curragh, and the festival held around St Brigid’s Day attract pilgrims and fans to the town. Kildare Town Heritage Centre boasts a state-of-the-art VR film which imagines Brigid as goddess and saint and is proving very popular since it opened in 2018.
“St Brigid is our USP (unique selling proposition),” said Cllr Quinn, “but we are ideally located close to the heavy hitters of Celtic Spirituality such as St Kevin of Glendalough, St Mochua of Clondalkin, St Maelruain of Tallaght, and St Ciarán of Clonmacnoise.”
Without even leaving the county there is a treasure chest of early Christian sites:
Castledermot Monastery: Discover beautiful high crosses, a round tower and Ireland's only Scandinavian style Viking hogback grave.
Castledermot Friary: The remains of a Franciscan monastery that served the bustling medieval town of Castledermot.
Moone High Cross: Discover the truly monumental Moone High Cross, one of the tallest, best preserved and most celebrated of the Irish high crosses.
Old Kilcullen: Discover this ancient monastery that overlooks the beautiful countryside of Co. Kildare with segments of a high cross and a round tower.
St Brigid's Cathedral: Hear the story of Ireland's foremost female saint as this wonderfully atmospheric site.
Clane: The site of St Ailbe's monastery, and where the Franciscans established a 13th century foundation.
Taghadoe: The remains of a monastery founded by St Tua the Silent, with a fine round tower.
Oughterard: A hilltop monastic site with a round tower and a ruined church, which has become famous as the burial place of Arthur Guinness.
In Quinn’s opinion, there are at least three types of visitor that Kildare might attract:
Faith-based visitors who visit a place to practice their Catholic or Christian religion
Cultural tourists who will visit a spiritual site as part of a wider holiday experience including visiting friends and relations
Spiritual interest visitors whose primary motivation is to connect with a region’s landscape, culture, heritage, architecture, traditions, and values, and to do this at the region’s spiritual site or sites
Pilgrim walks and trails are witnessing a renewed interest and numbers are increasing. Glendalough and Clonmacnoise are among places experiencing this surge in numbers. County Kildare features in day 2 of a trail promoted by Fáilte Ireland under the Ireland’s Ancient East brand, and there are 5-day or 9-day pilgrimages from County Louth to County Kildare called Brigid’s Way; however, Cllr Quinn feels more can be done to create bednights in the county.
He calls on Kildare County Council to set up a taskforce involving representatives from Into Kildare, Fáilte Ireland and Sisters Rita and Phil from Solas Bhríde to look at developing County Kildare as a hub for spiritual tourism in Ireland’s Ancient East.
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