Kildare Seeks Global ‘Pause for Peace’

Into Kildare, the tourism board for County Kildare, and Solas Bhríde Centre & Hermitages have joined forces to launch a global "Pause for Peace" movement which will take place on the 1st of February 2023, Saint Brigid’s Day.  

Pause for Peace will see the residents of County Kildare (Ireland) calling on people all around the world to stop for a minute’s silence at 12:00 noon (local time) on the 1st of February 2023.

Next year (2024) marks the 1500th year of the passing of Saint Brigid, the patron saint of Kildare and Ireland, and in preparation for this special year, various activations will take place in 2023. The Pause for Peace movement is one of these events which recognises the importance of Saint Brigid from a cultural, religious, spiritual and historical point of view. 

"Brigid 1500" will see a series of celebrations taking place at home and abroad, while 2023 will also be the first year that Ireland will celebrate the new public holiday in the saint’s name.

Áine Mangan, CEO of Into Kildare said:

"From this year onwards, Ireland will celebrate a new annual national holiday in honour of Saint Brigid, one of the three patron saints of our country. Saint Patrick had a national holiday declared in his honour in 1903, finally, one hundred and twenty-three years later, Saint Brigid has been granted a similar honour. This decision marks the modelling of the equal dignity of male and female at national level.

"The new public holiday this year is on the 6th of February. The Saint Brigid’s Day public holiday is hugely important not just for County Kildare, but for the whole country, when we expect to see hundreds of thousands of visitors travel to Ireland. Equally, from a domestic point of view, the new holiday will serve as a welcome uplift for hospitality providers who will enjoy a business boost in the shoulder period between Christmas and Saint Patrick’s Day.”

Sr. Rita Minehan of Solas Bhríde said, "This movement for a pause for peace sets the scene for marking the new national holiday. It reflects a spiritual underpinning to the day and is consonant with the value of peace which Brigid stood for in her time."
 
She went on the say, “By pausing for peace, we send out a message that we actively oppose warfare and the proliferation of arms, which wreak havoc on human beings as well as on the natural world. This movement aims to awaken and build a spirit of global solidarity in our search for peace.”
 
She continued, “We are delighted to have three ambassadors for Pause for Peace, they are Ewan Morris, Lily Tyrell Kenny and Ben Ryan, senior students from Kildare Town Community School.”

Already the news has started to spread around the world about the Pause for Peace movement through the Irish diaspora living abroad, through Tourism Ireland and via the international Solas Bhríde network. New Zealand will be first to start the Pause for Peace movement, when they will have a minute’s silence for peace at 12:00 noon their time on Saint Brigid’s Day, 1st of February. 

Sr. Rita explained that Pause for Peace asks people of all faiths and none to stop for a minute’s silence and send out peace from their hearts to the people of the world. She said the movement has been inspired by Saint Brigid, whose legacy is most relevant in our war-torn world today. 

Pause for Peace will be at 12:00 noon, Saint Brigid’s Day, 1st of February 2023. For more information on the various Brigid 1500 activities, see www.intokildare.ie or visit www.solasbhride.ie.