St Brigid and Imbolc get stamp of approval

AN Post has issued a set of stamps to mark the feast day of Saint Brigid and the pagan festival of Imbolc – both celebrated today.

The stamps are by Louth-based artist Yoko Akino, with design by Oonagh Young of Design HQ in Dublin.

The ‘N’ rate St Brigid’s stamp, which at €1.40 covers postage all over the island of Ireland, features the St Brigid Cross.

It acknowledges the continuing influence of St Brigid, who led a large monastery in Co. Kildare and became one of Ireland’s three patron saints – and who has the new February bank holiday named in her honour. She is said to have used a cross made from rushes during the deathbed conversion of a pagan chieftain.

The €2 ‘W’ rate stamp, for worldwide postage, features a fire motif, symbolising Brigid’s divine, creative and healing powers.

The Imbolc festival celebrates the goddess Brigid’s feast day, mirroring the Christian feast day of St Brigid.

Known as a triple goddess in Celtic Tuatha Dé Danann mythology, Brigid is one of the few pagan figures to endure after Christianity came to Ireland.

She is viewed as an inspiring figure of womanhood and empowerment, and her compassion, peace-making and courage, and active role in modelling equality between genders, underline her recent revival in popularity.

Aileen Mooney, Irish Stamps Manager, encouraged people to get into the Brigid spirit. She said: ‘February is springtime – always a good time to renew connections by writing and posting a card or letter to someone in your life.’ The stamps and first day cover envelope are available at anpost.com/shop and in selected Post Offices.