"I have run the gauntlet of many borders in my time, but the border I grew up with at home was far and away the most trying," writes Seamas OCathain (Professor Emeritus at University College Dublin, and former Director of the National Folklore Collection) of the Irish border - "a border policed by little corporals that was the bane of our lives."

Professor Seamas OCathain's monumental study of the Festival of Brigit - Imbolc, February 1st - updated, extended, and published in a new edition, in honour of Ireland's newest national holiday. Brigit was one of three great saints of early Irish Christianity, alongside Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and Colm Cille (Columba), Irish colonizer of Scotland and founder of Iona. By tradition, Saints’ Day festivals and other Holy Days were celebrated over twenty-four hours, starting on the eve of the feast and continuing through the night and through the following day. Thus the Festival of...