TLRH | Brigit: A Day for Renewal and Healing

Monday, 1 February 2021, 1 – 2pm Christian saint or Celtic goddess, Brigit has long been associated with the spring season, representing renewal, healing and fertility. But who was the enigmatic Brigit, Brigid or Bríg and what lessons does her legend offer us today? In the midst of a global pandemic which has shaken the world, can we find ways to generate hope from centuries old wisdom and tradition? Join us on the 1st of February for a conversation with Professor Katharine Simms, Dr Mary Condren, artist Rita Duffy, Early Career Researcher Nandini Gupta, and Trinity Long Room Hub Director, Professor Eve Patten. Rita Duffy is an artist in residence at the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Institute. Born in Belfast, Rita was awarded a B.A. from the Art & Design Centre and an M.A. in Fine Art at the University of Ulster. She was elected to Aosdana in 2017. She is one of Northern Ireland's groundbreaking artists who began her work concentrating primarily on the figurative/narrative tradition. Her art is often autobiographical, including themes and images of Irish identity, history and politics. Rita Duffy’s work has grown and evolved but remains intensely personal with overtones of the surreal. Professor Katharine Simms Ph.D. was Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Trinity College Dublin until her retirement in 2010. She has written three books, From Kings to Warlords (1987), Medieval Gaelic Sources (2009) and Gaelic Ulster in the Middle Ages (2020) as well as numerous articles on Gaelic politics and society in later medieval Ireland, including several on the role of women, and the later commentaries on Brehon law tracts. Dr. Mary Condren is a Visiting Research Fellow and teaches at the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies, in the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin. She is director of Woman Spirit Ireland and has organised and resourced Festivals of Brigit, in Ireland and North America, for over thirty years. She is the author of The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion and Power in Celtic Ireland. Articles on Brigit and feminist topics: https://tcd.academia.edu/MaryCondren Learn more at: https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/