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In the Year of our Lord 453 on Ireland
Brigid was born

Daughter of Dubtach, pagan Scottish king of Leinster,
and Brocca, a Christian Pictish slave

who had been baptized by Saint Patrick. Just before Brigid’s birth,
her mother was sold to a Druid landowner.

Brigid remained with her mother till she was old enough to serve her legal owner Dubtach, her father.

She grew up marked by her high spirits and tender heart,
and as a child, she heard Saint Patrick preach, which she never forgot.

She could not bear to see anyone hungry or cold, and to help them,
often gave away things that were Dubtach’s.

When Dubtach protested, she replied that “Christ dwelt in every creature”.
Dubtach tried to sell her to the King of Leinster,

and while they bargained, she gave a treasured sword of her father’s to a leper.
Dubtach was about to strike her when Brigid explained

she had given the sword to God through the leper, because of its great value.
The King, a Christian, forbade Dubtach to strike her, saying “Her merit before God is greater than ours”.

Dubtach solved this domestic problem by giving Brigid her freedom.

LPWJ transcript version 28/04/09