Hang On St Brigid

That lad can make anything…

atest press release from those nice people at Citizens Information, issued on Tuesday, January 30th 2024…

It’s only the second year that we have started officially celebrating Brigid’s Day in Ireland and throughout the country numerous artistic and community-centric events are taking place.

Saint Brigid stands as a reminder of our deep humanity, a call to remember inclusiveness and harmony.

She extends a bridge between the old stories and myths celebrating the powerful, compassionate nature of women and the more pragmatic, recent vision of an Ireland of Equals – as one of the first countries to promote universal suffrage to women and men alike, with the Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916.

That is why we are taking this moment to celebrate our contemporary heroes, women of all ages and backgrounds who make our community in County Wicklow an inclusive space for everyone, no matter the age, gender, economic status or ethnic background. The caring, protective, nurturing energy can be seen in society as a fundamentally feminine trait – not in the sense that it is solely reserved to women, but that it is more socially accessible to them.

That is why we will see, statistically, more women in community-centric roles, such as teaching, caring or social services. That is also in the case for our Citizen Information Centres in Bray and Arklow, where many of our staff and volunteers are female.

When Caring Becomes A Vocation

We briefly chatted to some of the Bray Citizen Information Centre workers to understand how their vocation, built on empowering and caring for others, brings them satisfaction, despite the challenges and difficulties it can also possess…

Miriam, Anne, Triona and Julie. Pic: Raluca Turcanasu.

Julie, Information Officer, staff, originally from Clare, based in Bray. “It is a privilege to work in an environment where I can use my natural caring abilities to help and support others, in particular the more vulnerable members of our community. While I use my knowledge and skills to assist clients, I also learn something from each of them, which in turn helps me to be better at my role. This makes the whole process seem very holistic. I get immense fulfillment from providing support in this way, which could never be achieved in a different industry, and I feel very grateful.”

Martina. Development Manager, South Leinster Citizen Information Service, originally from Kerry, based in Bray. “My inspiration for working in the community sector is that my values align to the culture of Citizens Information where we provide an emphatic, non-judgmental and caring information service for all of our clients whom we treat with courtesy, dignity and respect.

Claire, Director on the Board of South Leinster CIS & volunteer Information Provider, originally from Dublin, based in Bray. “I volunteer as an information provider as well as a director on the Board of the Citizens Information Service so I can appreciate how we focus on caring for the customer at every level. My motivation is the positive feedback I receive and knowing that we provide real help to our clients.”

Raluca, volunteer PR coordinator, originally from Bucharest, based in Dublin. “I have always been motivated to use my communications management know-how to help organisations that help communities and individuals have a wider outreach. Working with Bray CIC gives me a sense of belonging in Ireland and allows me to gain a better understanding of social services here.”

We did want to know what it’s like for men to work in a mainly female environment, so we asked Ben, who volunteers for Bray CIC what his take is.

“I’ve always worked in information services of one kind or another where women usually outnumber men. So, that kind of work environment is very familiar to me. Yet, it’s probably fair to say that the more diverse a workforce you can achieve, the more rounded your service is likely to be. I enjoy what I do because it involves helping people assert their civic rights and fulfill their civic responsibilities in a very practical way – something which is essential to sustain our sense of community in fast-changing times.”

Exercising civil and social rights bring about responsibilities and it is vital that we all contribute as much as we can to empower our communities and transform them into welcoming, inclusive, non-judgmental spaces. Volunteering with organisations in any field is a great way to give back, to meet like-minded people of all ages and backgrounds and, at the end of the day, to feel that satisfaction of having contributed to making the world a little bit better.

“There’s room for everyone under Brigid’s cloak.”

More St Brigid celebrations on February 1st in Wicklow here, and a little history over here.