An Extract From Visions and Voyages:

Brigid

In the mid fifth century, when Patrick was preaching his last sermons in the north of Ireland, a remarkable girl was born in the kingdom of Leinster, on the central plain. Her father Dubhthac was a man of high rank and a pagan, but her mother was his Christian slave. The child was called Brigid, the name of one of the Celtic triple goddesses, revered as a giver of plenty and the patron of learning - the crafts of the poet, blacksmith, healer.

This noble Dubhthac's jealous wife had the slave woman and her infant sold to a druid household. Brigid had a Christian mother, but, growing up among druids, she could hardly fail to be interested in the goddess whose name she bore.

Young Brigid comes across in the stories as a spirited lass. To begin with, she was clearly a favourite with her natural father, and returned as a teenager to his house. But she had no sense of personal property. Throughout her life, she gave away anything that could be eaten, worn or bartered.

At last her father could stand it no longer. He dumped her in his chariot and drove her off to the king's court, intending to sell her. While he went off to explain his business, a leper approached the chariot, begging. Brigid was just telling him she had nothing to give him when she noticed her father's sword. Impulsively she handed it over to him. When her enraged father found that she had given away his most precious possession, he dragged her in front of the king. Brigid stuck to her principles. She told the king, 'If I had all your power, and all your wealth, and this country itself, I'd give the whole lot away to the Lord of Creation.'

An offer of marriage was made to her by a highly honoured poet. Brigid refused. She said she wanted to start a community of celibate women. Whether she could actually have heard Patrick preach is doubtful, but she was clearly influenced by the ideal of ascetic life he had inspired in his disciples. As usual, she got what she wanted. She was given land for an abbey at Kildare, 'the Church of the Oak'. Her nuns ranged from princesses to slaves…