Brigid as a bridge gives me the heebie-jeebies. Seriously – it’s usually based around some horrendous fake etymology surrounding the traditional Anglicisation of the Irish Bríd to the English Bridget. People take off the “t” and go straight to “bridge”.
It’s not the case. As we know, Brigid comes from Brig, which is linked to being exalted, high, that sort of thing. Nothing to do with bridges at all.
Bridges are liminal spaces though
OK, even I have to admit that Brigid has a relationship with liminality. And bridges are liminal spaces. They hover between land, sea and sky – much like Brigid herself.
So it makes sense that bridges can be linked to Brigid – of course it does. Bridges connect us. They span the world. In Norse mythology (not Irish, but still), the Bifröst bridge spans Midgard (earth) and Asgard (land of the gods). Now I can already hear practitioners of that spirituality lamenting that I’m over simplifying and it’s not that straightforward. I’ve no doubt they’re correct. I’m not a devotee of that spiritual path. Brigid keeps me busy enough, thanks all the same.
But I suppose my point here is that bridges are recognised as liminal and magical spaces. Across multiple worldviews. They’re magical in and of themselves – allowing us to cross water and depths without injury or getting wet. Those of us familiar with the various bridges across the Liffey in Dublin are particularly grateful for this, since that water isn’t healthy for anything as far as I can see.
Bridges connect disparate worlds and places, joining the un-joinable. Traversing the depths and engaging with the deep.
Brigid as bridge
And we know that Brigid has traversed the depths as well. As the Irish left these shores, they took her with them. She served as a bridge for those left behind and those gone abroad. For many years, “biddy” was a term used in the US for “Irish female domestic servant” and even until the 80’s and 90’s was a recognised diminutive of the Irish name Bridget. Just check out Glenroe.
Brigid essentially ignored the apparent divides between Christianity and paganism in Ireland and kept supporting her people. As bridges do – they don’t usually determine who and what can cross them other than design features. And even then… many old bridges were massively over-engineered for what they were holding.
Much like Brigid.
She doesn’t have the glamorous jobs in the TDD. She doesn’t really have a frontline job at all. Even in Caith Maigh Tuired, she is the representative of the land for Bres to marry, and is Ruadhán’s mother. Her power, her works, her deeds are mostly lost to us.
But we see fragments of that power left for us. In Cormac’s Glossary, her protection of poets was great. She commanded the royalty of ox, boar and rams. She appears as the (potential) mother of the three gods of skill (or the three sons of Tuireann, whichever way you read it).
Glamorous doings
Brigid and bridges have that in common – neither are particularly glamorous. And I mean that in sincerity. They operate in the background, half the time we don’t even notice they are there. But they serve functions without which we’d be lost.
Why is this coming to me today?
Well, I’ve been reading about the so-called LA riots over the last few days. (Listen, I was alive during the ’92 riots in LA. Those folks know how to riot. And the pictures I’m seeing right now aren’t in the same league at all. Protesting doesn’t automatically equal rioting…)
And I’ve been seeing a lot of advice about how to manage yourself on a protest and how to engage with the protestors online. Through some really interesting feeds. And there’s a few things that I’ve said before, but that bear repeating:
- If you’re not physically able, these protests probably aren’t for you. That doesn’t mean you can’t help. But you don’t have to be in the frontlines.
- Be sensible about your abilities and bandwidth. If everyone is on the frontlines, then no one is about to bail people out afterwards.
- Protestors need safe routes for escape, potentially shelter from – apparently the National Guard???
- Food and water are great. So are toilets. Be practical people!
And you know – there are loads of other bits of advice out there as well. If you can do nothing else – spread the stories. People see a mass of people on telly chanting slogans at the police (and dear gods above, when did the LAPD turn into the voice of reason here???) they think riot.
But what about Mary who travelled from San Diego because her cousin is a Latino in LA and she wanted to be sure he was safe? Or John, who lives in LA and sees the ICE crowd as the Gestapo of modern US, and wants to oppose the takeover of his government/constitution.
People respond to stories. People respond to people. That’s why person-interest stories do so well in the modern media.
Yes, movements need leaders, and visibility, and coverage. But they also need the links between communities and people to bring the movement alive.
So, ok… Brigid as a bridge
I give in that Brigid can be related to bridges. And I know from the stats I see on here a huge amount of my audience is US based. Or at least using US internet IDs. So here’s my challenge.
How are you going to be a bridge then? How are you going to support your communities, link your communities, serve as a transit for those who need to know each other and work together?
What are you doing to bring people together?
What are you doing to traverse the depths of misunderstanding and find the overlap between people and communities to make the overarching community better?
Are you willing to do the dirty work, the hard work, the hidden work?
