As winter loosens its grip and the promise of spring begins to stir, St Brigid’s Day marks a meaningful turning point in the Irish year. It is one that has always been deeply connected to food and nourishment and our newest bank holiday also celebrates women’s creativity and heritage.
Well-known, award-winning food consultant Santina Kennedy has been hosting St Brigid’s Day events for six years and was part of the movement to get the day recognised as a public holiday.
“From an early age, I was always interested in why St Brigid wasn’t celebrated the way St Patrick was. My granny was a Brigid and was very hospitable. As I learned about St Brigid, I wondered why she didn’t get a feast day for her? St Patrick has chased away snakes, but this woman has done so much good and has so many associations with food and drink. We don’t seem to be talking about her connection to nature.
“She has really positive attributes, and as I became older, I really saw her place in Irish food and drink. I was determined to create events around her,” Santina explains.
Having known so much about St Brigid, Santina thought that was the norm and was surprised to see people were confused about her role and history.
“Now, I think people are coming around to the idea of who she is. But it did take a few years. I think that one of the best ways to get anybody to listen to you about anything is to put a plate of food and something to drink in front of them. It’s a great way to connect,” she says.
St Brigid is known as the patron saint of brewing, dairying, and farming, along with having connections to fishing, and being renowned for her hospitality and generosity. These are all things that come to mind when Santina thinks about food.
“Food tourism is my niche, so when you think of all of those things, and what they encompass, you can bring so much to the table,” she says.
One thing Santina and St Brigid have in common is that they are both ambassadors for Irish food and drink.
As so many people involved in brewing, dairy and food production have great stories, Santina invites them to markets, festivals, talks and events to help bring St Brigid’s story to life, while promoting them as Irish producers.
Promoting Irish food and drink
“I always say at the start of my events, St Brigid is the OG ambassador for Irish food and drink – and she was overlooked for so long. For brewing, she brewed a lake of water – into a lake of beer; in dairying, she went everywhere with a white cow. The St Brigid’s cross is often made and hung in a barn to protect cattle from fire.
“With butter making, there were legends around her having to bless the milk first to turn it into cream and then butter. Her mother was a slave, and she was adopted into the chieftain’s family. She gave away the family’s bacon to the poor,” Santina explains.
“We overlook all of that now, the things that we want are a new iPad or whatever. But really, that story of want and being magically nourished – those food stories are the ones that we think of with St Brigid,” she says.
Although many people are familiar with St Brigid and the symbol of the cross, they don’t necessarily know why it’s there. Different events over the last few years – promoting St Brigid and her values – has helped people understand her more.
Part of that has been connecting people through food.
“When people have a little taste of something and can connect that to something from their heritage, it’s a simple story, and it stays with them.
“You’re telling a story that this woman, who took a risk to be generous with her family’s food regardless of the consequences and she was rewarded,” says Santina.
“That spirit of generosity and sharing what you have, in one way, is a leap of faith that producers can resonate with.And the events give producers the oppurtunity to be at a table or a stage – it adds to their profile,” says Santina.
Sanntina Kennedy in a field of rushes. \ Lorraine Teevan
That’s where the real joy is for Santina, having spent over 15 years working in Ireland’s food industry, and a lifetime engrossed, passionate and curious about it.
“I became really interested in Irish food, having grown up in a semi-rural area, seeing so much farming activity, but not seeing that translated into a plate or a story.
“It was kind of overlooked; we were eating, but not talking about it [food] in the same way that other countries would talk about their food culture,” she says.
Carving a niche
Initially working in the banking industry, Santina left to be at home with her children, which gave her more time to explore cooking, and she opened up her own café and retail store that sold local produce. After nine years, she closed the doors and returned to college because she wanted her work to be sustainable.
“I wanted to be in the conversation around food as much as I wanted to be preparing it and serving it, and I could see a lot of issues. I did a Master’s in Food Studies and Gastronomy at TU Dublin. It was absolutely life-changing for me,” she says.
After spending five years creating events around Irish food history and food culture, she decided to go freelance and hasn’t looked back since.
“The food and culture event scene is made up of a lot of individual players who are doing their best to elevate the whole story for everybody.
“Fáilte Ireland used to have a food tourism section, and now they don’t. There is talk of it. I want to see that come to life, and I want to see it come to life meaningfully,” she emphasises.
In Santina’s experience, bringing producers to consumers and allowing them to share their story helps people engage with food production and as a result, turn them into advocates.
“It forges that connection a little deeper, in a way that I think you don’t get if you just pick up a jar off the shelf,” she explains.
On 2 February, Santina is hosting a Brigit’s Table event with Ali Dunworth, a special food and drink pop-up event exploring her legacy with tastings from some of Ireland’s finest artisan food and drink producers connected to Brigid’s dairy, brewing, fishing and healing links. It is taking place at Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, Dublin, tickets are €6.34 on eventbrite.ie.
The name Brigid has many spellings, stemming from Irish, Celtic, and Anglicised forms, including Bríd, Brighid (Irish), Brigit, Brigid, Bride (common anglicizations), Bridget and Bridgette.
As winter loosens its grip and the promise of spring begins to stir, St Brigid’s Day marks a meaningful turning point in the Irish year. It is one that has always been deeply connected to food and nourishment and our newest bank holiday also celebrates women’s creativity and heritage.
Well-known, award-winning food consultant Santina Kennedy has been hosting St Brigid’s Day events for six years and was part of the movement to get the day recognised as a public holiday.
“From an early age, I was always interested in why St Brigid wasn’t celebrated the way St Patrick was. My granny was a Brigid and was very hospitable. As I learned about St Brigid, I wondered why she didn’t get a feast day for her? St Patrick has chased away snakes, but this woman has done so much good and has so many associations with food and drink. We don’t seem to be talking about her connection to nature.
“She has really positive attributes, and as I became older, I really saw her place in Irish food and drink. I was determined to create events around her,” Santina explains.
Having known so much about St Brigid, Santina thought that was the norm and was surprised to see people were confused about her role and history.
“Now, I think people are coming around to the idea of who she is. But it did take a few years. I think that one of the best ways to get anybody to listen to you about anything is to put a plate of food and something to drink in front of them. It’s a great way to connect,” she says.
St Brigid is known as the patron saint of brewing, dairying, and farming, along with having connections to fishing, and being renowned for her hospitality and generosity. These are all things that come to mind when Santina thinks about food.
“Food tourism is my niche, so when you think of all of those things, and what they encompass, you can bring so much to the table,” she says.
One thing Santina and St Brigid have in common is that they are both ambassadors for Irish food and drink.
As so many people involved in brewing, dairy and food production have great stories, Santina invites them to markets, festivals, talks and events to help bring St Brigid’s story to life, while promoting them as Irish producers.
Promoting Irish food and drink
“I always say at the start of my events, St Brigid is the OG ambassador for Irish food and drink – and she was overlooked for so long. For brewing, she brewed a lake of water – into a lake of beer; in dairying, she went everywhere with a white cow. The St Brigid’s cross is often made and hung in a barn to protect cattle from fire.
“With butter making, there were legends around her having to bless the milk first to turn it into cream and then butter. Her mother was a slave, and she was adopted into the chieftain’s family. She gave away the family’s bacon to the poor,” Santina explains.
“We overlook all of that now, the things that we want are a new iPad or whatever. But really, that story of want and being magically nourished – those food stories are the ones that we think of with St Brigid,” she says.
Although many people are familiar with St Brigid and the symbol of the cross, they don’t necessarily know why it’s there. Different events over the last few years – promoting St Brigid and her values – has helped people understand her more.
Part of that has been connecting people through food.
“When people have a little taste of something and can connect that to something from their heritage, it’s a simple story, and it stays with them.
“You’re telling a story that this woman, who took a risk to be generous with her family’s food regardless of the consequences and she was rewarded,” says Santina.
“That spirit of generosity and sharing what you have, in one way, is a leap of faith that producers can resonate with.And the events give producers the oppurtunity to be at a table or a stage – it adds to their profile,” says Santina.
Sanntina Kennedy in a field of rushes. \ Lorraine Teevan
That’s where the real joy is for Santina, having spent over 15 years working in Ireland’s food industry, and a lifetime engrossed, passionate and curious about it.
“I became really interested in Irish food, having grown up in a semi-rural area, seeing so much farming activity, but not seeing that translated into a plate or a story.
“It was kind of overlooked; we were eating, but not talking about it [food] in the same way that other countries would talk about their food culture,” she says.
Carving a niche
Initially working in the banking industry, Santina left to be at home with her children, which gave her more time to explore cooking, and she opened up her own café and retail store that sold local produce. After nine years, she closed the doors and returned to college because she wanted her work to be sustainable.
“I wanted to be in the conversation around food as much as I wanted to be preparing it and serving it, and I could see a lot of issues. I did a Master’s in Food Studies and Gastronomy at TU Dublin. It was absolutely life-changing for me,” she says.
After spending five years creating events around Irish food history and food culture, she decided to go freelance and hasn’t looked back since.
“The food and culture event scene is made up of a lot of individual players who are doing their best to elevate the whole story for everybody.
“Fáilte Ireland used to have a food tourism section, and now they don’t. There is talk of it. I want to see that come to life, and I want to see it come to life meaningfully,” she emphasises.
In Santina’s experience, bringing producers to consumers and allowing them to share their story helps people engage with food production and as a result, turn them into advocates.
“It forges that connection a little deeper, in a way that I think you don’t get if you just pick up a jar off the shelf,” she explains.
On 2 February, Santina is hosting a Brigit’s Table event with Ali Dunworth, a special food and drink pop-up event exploring her legacy with tastings from some of Ireland’s finest artisan food and drink producers connected to Brigid’s dairy, brewing, fishing and healing links. It is taking place at Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, Dublin, tickets are €6.34 on eventbrite.ie.
The name Brigid has many spellings, stemming from Irish, Celtic, and Anglicised forms, including Bríd, Brighid (Irish), Brigit, Brigid, Bride (common anglicizations), Bridget and Bridgette.
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