The name Brigha from brigh, meaning "power, vigour, virtue," epitomizes the Celtic genius for layering old and new.

Brigha is a form of the Brittanic version of Brighit or Brigid, an important female deity of the ancient Celts. Brigid made the land fruitful and animals multiply, she blessed poets and blacksmiths.

Brigid was so loved by the Celtic people that she was worshipped all through the land including Ireland, Wales and farther into Europe as well. She had a sacred temple at Kildare, where 19 priestesses tended a holy flame that was never extinguished. The flame represented Brigid, as the Goddess of fire and forge. She ruled over smithcraft and other arts, poetry, divination, animals and livestock, healing and physicians. Because she is associated with three distinctive and unrelated fields (smithcraft, healing, poetry), Brigid is sometimes considered a form of triple Goddess. The Sabbat of Imbolc is sacred to Brigid, as Her feast day of welcoming back Spring on February 1.

According to Scottish tradition, it is She who deposes the blue-faced Goddess of Winter every Spring. The Sabbat of Imbolc or Oimelc (meaning Ewe's milk or butter bag) that used to be celebrated as the local sheep started to lactate is Her festival of welcoming back the Spring on February 1. Brighid has a close association with protection of the land and fertility of domestic beasts. She is the Goddess to contact, especially in matters of spiritual development.

As Christianity swept over the Celtic lands, the people loved Brigid too much to let her go. She was converted into a Catholic saint (St. Brigid of Kildare) and her temple became a Catholic convent, tended by nuns. The flame was put out in the 18th century by Bishops who became angry at the all-female convent, because they wouldn't allow men within its walls. In 1993, the flame was relit by the Brigidine sisters of Ireland.

A note about St. Brigid of Kildare:
Many historians believe that St. Brigid was not an actual person, but rather a Christianization of the pagan goddess Brigid in order to convert Celtic pagans to Christianity. Given the struggle Christian missionaries faced in their efforts to preach the Gospel in Ireland, even though they Christianized some elements, the adoption of a pagan goddess into the Communion of Saints may have been an effort to Christianize one of the most enduring pagan goddesses. Having said that, there are also many historians who say that she was a real person whose life was embellished by imaginative hagiographers, and this seems the most likely scenario. Evidence for a political function of the stories comes from detailed political analysis which demonstrates that they have been created or at least manipulated to document the power of Kildare over surrounding regions.

Sources:
Cill Dara Historical Society Saint Brigid
Wikipedia Brigid of Kildare
Bladey, Conrad, Jay, Brigid of the Gael., Hutman Productions, Linthicum, Md. 2000