St. Brigid's Day, February 1st.

Brian O’Donovan is a broadcaster, writer, and presenter, and lives in Cambridge, MA. Born and raised in Clonakilty West Cork in a family of 9, O'Donovan received his BA from University College Cork in 1978 before heading to England. He then journeyed to Boston and grad school at Emerson College. In Boston, at a music jam-session, he was introduced to Lindsay Henes. They married in August of 1981. They live in Cambridge, MA and have four grown children: Aoife, Ciaran, Aidan, and Nuala and two grandchilden, Ivy Jo Jacobsen of Brooklyn, NY, and Nomi O'Donovan of Denver, CO. He can be reached at celtic@wgbh.org.

January 31, 2022

Updated January 31, 2022

February 1st marks the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc. It is also known as St. Brigid's Day and marks the first day of Spring. It is one of four major "fire" festivals, the other three being Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain.

In this segment, we talk with Co. Kerry native Joe Keane about the traditions surrounding St. Brigid's Day, some of them dating to pre-Christian times. We also listen to music by Kim Robertson, Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, and Aine Minogue.

We hope you enjoy the program and the links below.

Aine Minogue has a wonderful set of resources here on St. Brigid and includes a special playlist for the time of year.

More on Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin's work here.

More on Joe Keane's work and tours here.

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