Irish Community Celebrates St Brigid’s Day with Film Screening in Luxembourg

On Thursday 30 January 2025, Festival Events Asbl, organiser of the British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg, in collaboration with the Ireland-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ILCC) and the Irish Club of Luxembourg (ICL), organised a St Brigid’s Day screening of Housewife of the Year at Ciné Utopia in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg.

St Brigid is the patroness saint of Ireland and is one of its three patron saints, the other two being St Patrick and St Columcille. St Brigid’s Day (Lá Fhéile Bríde) is celebrated on 1 February each year and since 2023 is marked with a public holiday on the first Monday of February. It is the first Irish public holiday to be named after a woman and honours the contribution of Irish women to society worldwide.

Guest of honour at the evening event was the Ambassador of Ireland to Luxembourg, Jean McDonald, who recalled watching the “Housewife of the Year” competition each year with her family. She spoke of how archaic a concept the competition now seems, when looked at with 21st century eyes and emphasised that it was this generation of women who pushed for change in Irish society. Ambassador McDonald referenced former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, who, in her inauguration speech, gave a special mention to Mná na hÉireann (the women of Ireland), who “instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system”. Ambassador McDonald continued by saying that central to the journey of social change in Ireland was membership of the European Union and how appropriate it was to be celebrating in this European capital. She added that society has travelled a long way and even though there were still gaps to address, Irish women now contribute to all parts of the Irish economy. She concluded by saying that St Brigid would be very proud.

St Brigid is believed to have been born around 450AD in Faughart, near Dundalk in Co. Louth. Her father Dubhtach was a wealthy chieftain and her mother was a slave in his household. As a child, Brigid gave what she could to the poor and needy, enraging her father who subsequently tried to sell her to the King of Leinster. While Dubhtach was negotiating the sale with the King, Brigid gave his bejewelled sword away to a beggar. The King, a Christian, recognising her kind and giving nature, granted Brigid her freedom.  She followed a life of charity and compassion for those in need, is credited with having performed many miracles and founded a monastery in Co. Kildare. St Brigid died on 1 February 525AD. The distinctive St Brigid’s Cross, made from woven rushes, is still commonplace in Ireland and is believed to keep evil, fire and hunger from homes.

Housewife of the Year is a documentary showcasing the empowerment of women and celebrating their place in society. It depicts former contestants of the Housewife of the Year competition recounting their experiences of marriage bars, lack of contraception, Magdalene laundries, financial vulnerability, boredom and shame and, of course, of being contestants in the competition. It is the story of a resilient generation of women and of how they changed a country. 

In the Grand Duchy, the Irish Club of Luxembourg (ICL) is organising an informal St Brigid's Day dinner on Tuesday 4 February 2025 at Eirelux Irish Pub & Restaurant in Luxembourg-Howald (40 Rue des Bruyères), at 19:00 for a 19:30 start. To reserve a place, email: party@irishclub.lu.