Celebrating St Brigid's Day
Jane Quinn • January 28, 2026
This week we celebrate St Brigid's Day.
In collaboration with IBNNZ, St Patrick's Festival NZ, Embassy of Ireland New Zealand, and Mná na hÉireann we will be celebrating exceptional women in NZ.
Brigid is the patron saint of poets.
But that’s not all – she’s also the patron saint of midwives, newborns, Irish nuns, fugitives, blacksmiths, dairymaids, boatmen, chicken farmers, cattle, scholars, sailors, and no doubt many more. She is also, along with Patrick and Columcille, one of the three patron saints of Ireland.
1st of February - also marks the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
How many of you whakapapa to Ireland? Are there similarities between the Irish and Māori stories? A love of rugby? Storytelling? Language revitalisation? A shared history of colonisation and resistance? In the link below you can watch as Moana travels to Ireland, the homeland of her mother’s whānau, to discover just how similar the Māori and Irish cultures really are in a special full-length episode. Funded and supported by Te Māngai Pāho and Whakaata Māori. Watch the full episode here
Matariki
The Tara Trust and Friends of Ireland would like to wish everyone a happy Bloomsday, in tribute to the works of renowned author James Joyce. June 16 is the day on which James Joyce’s groundbreaking Modernist novel, 'Ulysses', is set. In Dublin there is a whole festival dedicated to Bloomsday.
