St Brigid's Cross
This is a unique high quality handcrafted St Brigid's Cross, made by Eddie McGrath, basket maker from Belturbet. Eddie grows his own willow to create these stunning works of craftsmanship.
St Brigid is Irelands only woman patron saint.
St Brigids’ crosses symbolize protection, particularly from fire, evil spirits, and hunger. This is why they are hung around the home. They are used to protect the home from these devastating evils.
Brighid was the goddess of fire. She is associated with Spring, fertility, new life, and the protection of poets and healers. She has been celebrated on the first day of Spring which falls on the 1st of February for centuries, although the pagan name for this feast day celebration is Imbolc.
It is also thought that Brighid is a protector of newborn children as there are stories that tell of how she leans over the cradle of every child.
The origins of the Christian St Brigid’s cross are just as cloudy but the most widely believed story says that the cross came into being as She sat at the deathbed of an old pagan chieftain, although some claim it was her father. As the old pagan chieftain lay delirious and dying, she picked up the rushes that lay on the floor and began weaving a cross.
The chieftain gained some lucidity and asked what she was doing. The calm and comforting way she spoke to the dying man as she wove the cross and explained the meaning of this Christian cross is said to have convinced him to get baptised into Christianity just before he died.
Diameter 40cm, 16'' approx. Colour variations may occur to cross in picture.