BRIGID OF KILDARE

In 450 A.D. Ireland, the Druid CHIEF DUBTACH of Leinster simultaneously fathered a son [BACENE] by his wife, CONDLA, and a daughter [BRIGID] by his bondmaid BROCESA. Condla insisted that the pregnant Brocessa be sold and sent away to Connacht. Irish law demanded that the children of slaves be returned to their original owners upon reaching the age of eight. After the King ordered Dubtach to give 15 year-old Brigid her freedom, she took her vows to become a Sister in Christ. Along the Great Road on her return to help her mother in Connacht, Brigid met other Sisters and discovered how miserable and isolated the women were. She vowed to help them by creating a monastery community for women. Brigid's dream of a monastery (convent) for women is glimpsed within the context of the play's dream sequence. Women in Brigid's community would establish scriptoriums , hospitals, communal farms, and nurture art and music [women would sing Gregorian chants].