Online Lecture: Reinterpreting the Shrine of St. Brigid’s Shoe

Join us for an engaging online lecture that delves into one of the National Museum of Ireland’s lesser-known treasures; the shrine known as St. Brigid’s Shoe Shrine. This shrine is a life-size brass shoe from Loughrea, Co. Galway. Despite its frequent mention in studies and illustrations of the saint, this intriguing artefact has long been misunderstood. In this lecture, Cormac Bourke, a leading expert in early medieval metalwork, presents fresh insights based on new research on the shoe. Bourke will explore the shoe’s origins and detailing, how it belongs to the early 18th century and not the end of the middles ages as previously believed, and how it was probably never used to house a relic. This is a unique opportunity to learn about an important object that sheds light on faith, memory, and politics, particularly in the era of the Penal Laws and into 18th century Ireland.

Cormac Bourke is an Honorary Editor of the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and Vice-President for Ulster of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. He specialises in the study of early medieval metalwork and has published widely on the subject including a catalogue of early medieval hand-bells from Ireland and Britain, published by the National Museum of Ireland in 2020.