St. Brigid’s Day or Lá féile Bríde in Gaelic, is a well-known day of celebration in Ireland. It is now as of Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, to be recognized as not only a national holiday but the first, yes that’s right; the first to be named after a woman!Brigid is one of Ireland’s most beloved figures, she is both a mother saint of the country and a revered Celtic goddess. She was known for many things including learning, poetry, protection, blacksmithing, livestock/dairy production and healing.
Growing up in a catholic community in the Irish countryside, it was tradition for most kids to gather the rushes from the fields of green (often yellow with the time of year), carry them to school with annoyance and create not just a cross, but a symbol of St. Brigid. This in turn was carried back to the parents with pride, to be adorned on the walls of the home. It would be unusual for a resident of Ireland to not have heard about St. Brigid.
To acknowledge not only St. Brigid on Feb 1st, but also the amazing women walking this earth today, the Irish Consulate of New York City held a morning of celebration with networking, music from Katie Maye, poetry from Doireann Ní Ghríofa and a panel of Extraordinary Women. Some of these women were Irish, some with Irish heritage and others with no Irish ancestry but still possess an understanding of what it’s like to be an immigrant and a woman, in particularly male dominated roles. The morning was led by FDNY commissioner Laura Kavanagh, the first female leader of New York's Fire Department in it's 157-year history.
The panel included: Yvonne Cassidy, Irish author of 4 books, creative writing teacher and the Development Director of Bottomless Closet; Una Neary, daughter of the late Irish restauranteur Jimmy Neary, and Global Chief Compliance Officer at BlackRock; Aissata M.B Camara, Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff at the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs; Michele Fitzsimmons, Battalion Chief for the New York Fire Department and last, but of course, not least our very own Jennifer Muldowney, Chief Memorial Maker and Owner of Muldowney Memorials, Chief Author/Host of ‘The Glam Reaper’ Podcast and blog.
We are so proud of her and her achievements. May there be many more days like these to come, where hard-working, ambitious women own a stage that showcases their amazing accomplishments and achievements. They are trailblazing a way for the younger generations of women to come.
Walking away from that morning and meeting of minds, one would find it hard not to be empowered, inspired and ready to take on the world. The energy in the room was contagious, exuberant and overwhelmingly positive.
Do you have female role model in your life? Who stands out as an ‘Extraordinary Woman’ to you? Is there a woman you know in a typically male dominated role, that is forging her way to success without compromise?
Should you be interested in having Jennifer speak at one of your business events; would like to be featured on her podcast; need assistance in preplanning or need her services as a celebrant/memorial planner, do not hesitate to contact her and her team at
https://www.muldowneymemorials.com/contact-us
We also have exciting news at Muldowney Memorial and The Glam Reaper Headquarters, we now have our very own Newsletter!! Subscribing to the Muldowney Monthly Newsletter is easy, you can do so here at
http://eepurl.com/hwaL4v
You can also find articles in the Irish Independent and Irish Echo about the famous Irish man, Jimmy Neary here:
- Siobhán Regan
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