By Roger Berkeley, European Conservative.
Modern Irish history is a cautionary tale for Western nations that take the incessant attack on faith and freedoms lightly.
Last week, the Irish government released a St. Brigid’s Day video that mocks the Catholic saint while celebrating abortion and gay marriage. The video shows a cloaked figure—a pagan witch—carrying fire from one feminist milestone to the next, boasting images from when Ireland redefined marriage and created a constitutional right to abortion. The Irish government elite confused (or conflated) the Catholic saint with an old Gaelic goddess of the same name. This was not merely a mistake. It is the latest example of the elite’s contempt for Ireland’s Catholic heritage.
Irish Catholics were appalled but not surprised. Throughout the feminist milestones referenced in the video, the legend of St. Brigid was widely used and abused. Pro-abortion activists in Ireland routinely claim that Brigid was the first woman to procure an abortion in Ireland, even citing this as a reason for Catholics to support this “miracle.” These same activists, the minority base of the governmental elite, would scream “get your rosaries off my ovaries” at any well-meaning priest who might dare to explain what “thou shalt not commit murder” means. Former Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar, famous for being Ireland’s first openly gay leader, claimed that the holiday celebrated both St. Brigid and her goddess namesake. He suggested that the video was authentic to who Brigid was as a “saint goddess.” For anyone who is confused, let me explain: St. Brigid worshiped God, not some made-up ‘god-demon.’