Herstory light show displayed on Athlone Castle
To celebrate Brigid’s Day the spectacular Herstory Light Show by Dodeca illuminated Athlone Castle and Belvedere House in Mullingar last night.
The event was part of the 2021 Herstory Light Show which sees landmarks across Ireland light up on Sunday and Monday in honour of the Mother & Baby Homes victims; COVID heroines and heroes, Black Lives Matter, ‘Women who have Arrived’, and Brigids of the world.
The event is designed to assist Mná na hÉireann reclaim their sovereignty, sexuality and spirituality in the 2021 Herstory Light Show.
During the light shows, the names of all the children who died in the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home from 1922 to 1994 were illuminated on Athlone Castle and on Belvedere House.
See video here:
The first of February marks the beginning of Spring and the Celtic festival of Imbolc, once honoured as the feast of the goddess. Herstory is calling on the Irish public and our diaspora to sign the petition to make Brigid’s Day a national holiday and celebrate Ireland’s triple goddess and matron Saint Brigid equally to our world-renowned patron Saint Patrick.
“This year the Herstory Light Show journeys into the very heart of Ireland, to awaken the healing powers of Brigid and the compassion to process the wound of the Mother & Baby Home scandal,” says Herstory Founder Melanie Lynch.
“Ireland is left disturbed and heartbroken by the cruel and inexcusable treatment of mothers and children. Their trauma is the nation’s trauma. As Nelson Mandela once said; ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.’ I am calling on our politicians and government to join us and support Ireland as she heals, rising to become one of the most compassionate, caring and inclusive countries in the world.“
Herstory ran an open call to the public to nominate their heroines for the light show inspired by four timely themes, with a special tribute to the heroines and heroes of the pandemic: women and men who have battled the virus and the ordinary people who have played a role in these challenging times including teachers, chefs, farmers, shopkeepers, cleaners, postmen, journalists, nurses, doctors, and more.
You can follow the event on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags #Herstory #BrigidsDay from 6pm on Sunday 31st January until midnight on Monday 1st February.