Donal Hickey: Will Brigid's promise hold true?

February 1 is regarded as the first day of spring by many people. In folklore, the saint promised that half of her own day and every second day onward would be fine

The most common surviving custom relating to the feast is the making of St Brigid’s crosses which are hung up in people’s homes to honour the saint and gain her protection. Picture: Denis Scannell

It’s something of an irony that the celebration of Ireland’s favourite female saint involves one of our most unpopular plants.

Associated with poor land, and the bane of the farmer, the rush now comes into its own as the custom of weaving St Brigid’s crosses with this prolific, green plant lives on.