Events are taking place around the country on the fourth bank holiday weekend in honour of one of Ireland's patron saints, St Brigid.
The 1 February also marks the first day of spring and the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc.
It is also a time for many to celebrate the pre-Christian Celtic goddess, who was also said to be named Brigid.
While St Brigid's reach is far, with holy wells located right across the country, two counties with deep links to St Brigid are Louth and Kildare.
St Brigid was born in Faughart, Co Louth, and the Brigid of Faughart Festival has been running for more than 20 years.
It is just one of the groups to run St Brigid's cross making workshops this weekend, for people with an existing interest in the patron saint or the goddess and for those who want to learn more.
Organiser Roisin Cotter says there has been an "enormous increase in interest" in Brigid in recent times.
"The last couple of years have been unbelievable in terms of the level of interest and events, all over the country. There only used to be a couple and now there's events in every town to celebrate Brigid," she said.
Roisin said the Brigid of Faughart Festival celebrates Brigid "in all her different forms".
"The pre-Christian Brigid, whatever we know about her, and the Christian Brigid who was born in Faughart, and all her attributes. She is a local to us, Louth is her birthplace and we want to celebrate her and this is the right time of year to celebrate new life, new beginnings, and springtime," she said.
Roisin explained that "protection" is the meaning behind the St Brigid's cross.
"You're asking St Brigid to protect you, your family and your home. They're also put outside in barns and cattle sheds to protect the animals, and of course Brigid is very much linked to new life and bringing the spring, new life and regeneration. So, you want to have her blessing for the year on your family and also on your animals. They're used for protection and they're a symbol of Brigid really, in your home."
Most of those in attendance are women, who had come with their mothers, daughters and friends.
Laura said she had an interest because she was local to Dundalk, but wanted the first-hand experience of learning how to make a cross herself.
Grace McAllister said she was interested in the history and culture of Brigid and is "intrigued" at how the characters of the two Brigids are intertwined.
"She merges two ideas, the pagan and goddess and the saint aspect to her as well," she said.
"Even to acknowledge she has her day as a saint or as Brigid, I think it's important we have a woman to match Patrick. Everyone knows about Patrick, but Brigid's day is as important in my opinion," she said.
Tipperary woman Kate Power came to Dundalk to visit a friend.
"It's about Irish women, and I think it's a great example here today, there are so many women out and about celebrating our culture and history."
Some of the cross-makers who attended the workshop had travelled to Ireland from abroad especially for Brigid events.
Barbara Brosch from Germany first heard of Brigid 45 years ago when learning about Celtic festivals.
She has been coming to Ireland for the last 10 years to celebrate her.
She describes it as her "personal retreat".
"I've learned about how the women are engaged for women's rights, respect for women and I love the Irish women and their work," she said.
Robert Grant shares his birthday with St Brigid's day.
He travelled from Denmark, after hearing about Brigid on his first visit here two years ago.
"For me she's like a connection between the old ways and the new ways, the pagan ways and the Christian ways. She's a bridge between the two," he said.
The history of the St Brigid was also on display in the County Museum in Dundalk, with a special St Brigid's exhibition running until the end of February.
Some of the exhibits came from the 1930s, around the time the first national pilgrimage to Faughart took place in 1934.
Artefacts include a photograph of Éamon de Valera among the crowd attending that pilgrimage.
Museum curator Brian Walsh explained that a variety of different types of St Brigid's crosses can be viewed, as well as exhibits exploring how the symbol of the cross has been used over the years.
"Here we have a celebration not only of our crosses, but also the significance of Faughart as a site of pilgrimage, but also her legacy as well as it has been adopted by Louth GAA, Kildare GAA, the INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation), RTÉ and even pipe bands. So many people see so much within St Brigid that they're always pulling on her in a variety of ways."
Mr Walsh described her as a "complex character".
"Here is a person, who is one of the 3 principal saints of Ireland, and she's from this area. It's a great thing for a county to have a variety of different people to draw on as heroes. She is one of those heroes we need as a society today, as she has links to medicine, the rights of children and refugees, creativity, the culinary arts, she brings together so much."
While there are many events taking place, one of the showstoppers is the "Northern Lights" light installation show in Dundalk.
It will take place this evening at 20-minute intervals between 6pm and 7pm in the town's Market Square this evening, using music and lights to tell Brigid's story.
Over in Kildare, which is also synonymous with St Brigid; the five day "Brigid, Spirit of Kildare" festival runs until Monday 2 February.
It includes the annual candlelight pilgrimage on St Brigid's eve that took place last night, as well as a street performance show in Maynooth bringing myth blazing to life through puppetry, aerial artistry and fire.
One of the most poignant events of the weekend is the 'Pause for Peace'.
It was launched by the Solas Bhríde Centre and Into Kildare in 2023.
At 12 noon today, people are asked to observe a minute of silence or reflection, or a ‘Pause for Peace’, to "build a spirit of global solidarity for peace".
The Hill of Allen is also being lit up for the weekend.
The Tower at the top of the hill was lit up from 6pm until midnight on St Brigid's Eve.
Today, it will be illuminated again from 12 noon to coincide with the ‘Pause for Peace’.
The Hill of Allen will not be open to the public for this event, but the light will be visible across the landscape.
