St. Brigid was born about the year 452 at a place called Foghert, near Dundalk. She founded her convent under or near an oak tree, from which the town and county of Kildare took their present name.
She was the mother and foundress of many others and was known as the "Wonderful Worker" throughout Ireland. On the 1st of February, 525, she died and was buried at Kildare. Her nuns honored her memory so much that they kept a fire continually burning both day and night which was not extinguished until 1220, when the Archbishop of Dublin ordered it to be put out, as it was fast becoming the object of superstition.
Owing to the Scandinavian raids upon Ireland, in which they tore down churches and monasteries, her body was taken from Kildare and transferred to Down Patrick. In 1185 a triple vault was discovered containing the bodies of St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Columba. On the 9th of June, 1186, or thereabouts, the Pope caused the relics of these three great saints to be placed in the Cathedral of Down. This cathedral with its contents was destroyed by order of King Henry VIII of England, but pieces of the relics, including the head of St. Brigid, were saved by some clergy. The head was carried to Neustadt, in Austria. In 1587, Emperor Rudolf gave it to the Church of the Jesuits at Lisbon. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, her hand is preserved at Lumiar, near Lisbon, Portugal, and another relic is at St. Martin's, Cologne.
Cat Brack.—This was the name given to printed matter found in Irish primers supplied by the Irish Protestant Society to Irish-speaking Roman Catholics in those parts, because the former, under the color and pretense of preserving the Irish language, both oral and written, instead taught the Protestant version of the Scriptures and thereby attempted to overthrow the Roman Catholic religion. This campaign started out very active in 1836 and lingered on to the last days of the last century. While the scholars were learning both teachers and pupils were in receipt of pay. Some teachers made it a practice to enter the names of Roman Catholics on their roll books who were not students, but as a friendly neighbor would accommodate the teacher so as to enable him to get his fees.
Catholic Rent.—This was a tax levied in 1823 upon Catholics by Daniel O'Connel's Catholic Association to support the fight for emancipation.
Charity Meal.—At the end of 1879, a famine threatened Ireland. The British Government at first refused to take any steps to prevent death from hunger. The Land League, which was founded by the later Michael Davitt, in April, 1879, by Parnell, was temporarily converted into a relief organization. In America, Parnell and John Dillion collected $250,000 for the relief of distress.[4] The Duchess of Marlborough also appealed for help. In January and February, large contributions arrived from Canada, Australia, India, and the United States. The funds were distributed amongst the clergy of the poorer parishes, who issued tickets to traders to supply poor people with Indian meal.
Cholera Plague.—On the 14th of March of 1831 this great plague made its first appearance in Belfast, Ireland. It visited our part of the country shortly after. When it was first discovered in the town, the inhabitants fled to the country. It was nearly as fatal as the Black Death. It also followed the famine years of Black Death.
Clanna-Gael.—Clanna-Gael is an Irish society formed in America in 1881, or thereabouts. It was made up of most loyal members of the old Fenians, who hated to their dying day British rule in Ireland, and at the first opportunity available are determined to overthrow British power in Ireland.
Cloghane Pattern Day.—This pattern is held on the last Sunday of July in each year. The old people of the parish believe that it originated in honor of a pagan chieftain called Crom Duff, signifying Crom of the Heap of Stones, one of the deities of the Irish Druids. The last Sunday in Summer is called Black Crom, being held sacred to St. Patrick as the anniversary of commemorating the destruction of this class of idols as well as others of a like nature.