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Summary
Born a.d. 439. Died a.d. 525
SAINT BRIGHITT, or Brighid, or Breeyith, or Bride, or Bridget, or Brigit, as her name has been at various periods Anglicised, was descended from the illustrious family of the Fotharda, of Leinster.
Her genealogy is thus given in the bardic senchas:
Brighitt was the daughter of Dubthach Donn.
Son of Dremni, son of Bresal of smooth hair,
Son of Dian, son of Conula, son of Art,
Son of Carbri Niadh, son of Cormac,
Son of Aengus Mor, of high esteem,
Son of Eocaidh Finn, whom Art detested,
Son of wise Feidlimidh the Legal,
The glorious Tuathal Tectmar's son.
Divesting her of the supernatural gifts attributed to her, and trying to sift the truth from the many absurd stories related concerning her, Saint Brigit stands forth a great and good woman. In an age when the position of her sex was a subordinate one intellectually, she accomplished a work which, considering the disposition of the times, may well have been considered, in that age, as almost superhuman. Of her learning, her blameless life, and her wise judgment, there can be no question: and in such reverence was she held, that to swear by her name was considered the most solemn oath.
There were fifteen saints of the name of Brigit; the most famous of whom, and the first of the name, was the subject of this memoir. She was the daughter of the Leinster man, Dubthach, who was descended from Eochaidh Finn Fuathairt, brother of the renowned Conn of the Hundred Battles.
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- Illustrious IrishwomenBeing Memoirs of Some of the Most Noted Irishwomen from the Earliest Ages to the Present Century, pp. 33 - 43Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1877