Kildare, Cill Dara in Irish, means "Church of the Oak." Legend has it that Brigid founded her church at the site of an oak tree. This association, of course, also has pagan overtones. Some scholars believe that the name "druid" comes from two Proto-Indo-European roots, dru meaning "oak" and wid or weid meaning "to see" or "to know" (as in "wisdom" or "seer"). Put together, then, "druid" could mean "Knower of the Oak" or "Wise One of the Oak." Given that oak trees were sacred places for the druids, you can seek how Brigid's "Church of the Oak" would pull in druidic associations.
Another pagan connection concerns the "perpetual flame" that Brigid and her sisters kept lit at their monastery. A late hagiographic account of Brigid by Gerald of Wales describes how Brigid and her sisters attended a perpetual flame at Kildare, a fire that men were forbidden to approach and which miraculously produced no ashes. Many, again, see pagan overtones in the legend of Brigid's flame. Recall, the goddess Brigid was the patron of smith-craft. So, is there a fire/forge connection here?
Last year, in 2024, the town of Kildare celebrated "Brigid 1500," a commemoration of the 1,500 year anniversary of Brigid's death. Two murals of Brigid can be viewed downtown. This is the most striking one:
This depiction portrays Brigid more as the "pagan goddess" than as the Catholic nun and saint, though you can see a halo around her head. Note the symbol on her chest. This is St. Brigid's cross, found throughout Kildare and Ireland. Irish children make St. Brigid crosses from rushes or straw the night before Imbloc, the spring festival which is also St. Brigid's feast day. It's a springtime folk tradition similar to coloring Easter eggs and, obviously, is yet another location to observe pagan/Christian syncretism. When I was at Glendalough I sat down by a stream, gathered some rushes, and made a St. Brigid cross:
There's a lovely holy well associated with St. Brigid in Kildare, complete with a statue of Brigid:
On the site where Brigid's monastery once stood is St. Brigid Cathedral, which is, a bit incongruously, an Anglican church. Outside of the church is the location where it is believed Brigid's perpetual flame was located:
Exploring the town, I discovered that a relic of St. Brigid's skull was at St. Brigid’s Parish Church, which is Roman Catholic. After her death, Brigid's skull was taken to Europe. A piece of her skull had been in Portugal since the 13th century. This relic was given back to Kildare in 2024 in commemoration of the 1,500 anniversary. The reliquary is a lovely silver oak tree:
And the relic is found at the base of the trunk:
