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06 Sept 2025

Kildare's Spirit of Brigid 2025 events - featuring celebrities such as Una Healy and Laura Whitmore - begin on Friday

Events hosted by music magazine Hot Press in collaboration with Kildare County Council

Kildare's Spirit of Brigid 2025 events - featuring celebrities such as Una Healy and Laura Whitmore - begin on Friday. 

Kildare's Spirit of Brigid 2025 events - featuring celebrities such as Una Healy and Laura Whitmore - begin on Friday

Reporter:

Kildare Reporter

20 Jan 2025 9:30 AM

Spirit of Brigid 2025 events across Kildare, which feature celebrities such as Una Healy and Laura Whitmore, will begin on Friday. 
Music magazine Hot Press in collaboration with Kildare County Council are hosting the following events: 
Saturday, January 25 – This Wonderful World: A Day for Wellness & Joy Location: The Wonderful Barn, Leixlip

Fun for all the family, including wellness workshops, artisan food trucks, face-painting, live music, yoga, QiGong, story-telling, meditation, panel discussions, dance & fitness, storytelling and Brigid’s cross-making.
Highlights: Professor Noel Fitzpatrick (Channel 4’s Supervet), Michelin Green Star restaurateur Jess Murphy, and fascinating music therapy workshops with Minding Creative Minds.

Special screening of Herself and Q&A with Clare Dunne announced for Brigid 2025 Festival
 
Complimentary tickets for the screening of the lauded film are available now at hotpress.com.

A special screening of the award-winning feature film "Herself" has been announced as part of the upcoming Brigid 2025, Spirit of Kildare Festival, in one of the events celebrating female creativity, presented by Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

The acclaimed 2020 drama will be shown in the beautiful St. David's Church, in Naas, Co. Kildare, at 6pm on Friday, January 31 – followed by a Q&A session with the lead actor and co-writer of the film, the superbly talented Clare Dunne. 

Herself was directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!, The Iron Lady) and co-written by Clare Dunne, who also stars in the film, and Malcolm Campbell (What Richard Did).
 
Exploring trauma, the housing crisis, and the importance of community, Herself follows the story of Sandra (Clare Dunne), a young mother struggling to provide her two young daughters with a safe, happy home to grow up in. Beneath the surface, however, Sandra has a steely determination to change their lives for the better – and decides to subvert a system that's stacked against her, by building a future for herself and her children from scratch.

Herself had its world premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah, USA, in 2020. It scored multiple nominations, including Best Actress for Clare Dunne at the British Independent Film Awards – and went on to win Best Script for Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards, and the Human Rights Film Award and Discovery Award (for Clare Dunne), at the Dublin International Film Festival.

Tipped as one of Hot Press's 'Hot For 2020' talents, Clare Dunne has since become a multi-award-winning actor, known for her roles in the likes of Kin, Small Things Like These, Kathleen Is Here, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Last Duel.
 
The upcoming screening of Herself is part of the programme for the Brigid 2025, Spirit of Kildare Festival – taking place in towns and villages across Kildare from January 24 to February 3.

Under the oversight of Kildare County Council, the festival combines intimate concerts, large-scale events, and a series of cultural gatherings that honour Brigid’s enduring legacy through the theme "Her Spirit, Our Story".

On the same evening as the Herself screening and Q&A, there will be a major concert (now sold-out) across the road in the Moat Theatre, Naas – celebrating the boundless range and talent of Ireland's contemporary female artists. The line-up for this Nothing Compares concert includes Imelda May, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Una Healy, Lemoncello, and Rachael Lavelle, along with special guest Sabina Higgins, and host Laura Whitmore.
Saturday, 1 February – Warriors! Celebrating Women In Irish Sport

Location: The Curragh Racecourse, Co. Kildare
Family activities include sports demonstrations, training sessions, meet & greets, and public interviews. Hosted by Anna Geary, participants include Athletics Ireland, Irish Athletic Boxing Association, Kildare LGFA & Leinster Rugby, Sport Against Racism.

Saturday, 1 February - The Brigid's Day Gathering
Location: The Curragh Racecourse, Co. Kildare
Starring SHARON SHANNON, LYRA, IRISH WOMEN IN HARMONY, CLARE SANDS (Clare just added to the line-up).

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