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Date: 2/3/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — In Irish culture, St. Brigid’s Day on Feb. 1 means the start of spring. In advance of this day, the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England taught crafters to make St. Brigid’s crosses on Jan. 27.
The center, at 429 Morgan Road, West Springfield, is a non-profit, charitable organization. Mary Ellen Lowney, the center’s events coordinator, told Reminder Publishing that its mission is to promote Irish culture, through the arts, music, language and heritage. Additionally, the center offers travel experiences to Ireland.
Though the Irish Cultural Center (ICC) had sponsored Christmas caroling earlier this winter, the cross-making session was its first in-person event with a wide number of participants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lowney said this Irish craft dates back to about A.D. 450, when St. Brigid made a cross as she played with wreaths, while sitting at the deathbed of her father.
Participants in last week’s craft session in West Springfield used straw and colorful pipe cleaners. Leading them was Mary Ellen Russell, educator, and Réaltín McElhinney, Fulbright Irish scholar.
“Fulbright is a cultural and educational exchange [program],” said McElhinney. “I teach Irish as a cultural ambassador.”
McElhinney came to the United States in August 2021 and will remain here for the rest of the school year. She teaches full-time, splitting her work between the Irish Cultural Center and an intermediate class at Elms College in Chicopee.
“Language is my passion,” said McElhinney. “Teaching Irish language is the key to history.”
Every Tuesday, McElhinney hosts a Zoom meeting with people from America and Ireland. The majority of the people on the virtual session are ones that McElhinney has met during her time in the States. She said the purpose of these weekly meetings is to connect with another and learn more about the two cultures.
“I am here to teach, but also to learn,” said McElhinney. As much as she is spreading Irish culture, she is also absorbing American culture.
“The ICC does a great job promoting [Irish culture] and I’m glad to be a part of that journey,” said McElhinney. She said when she visits the Irish Cultural Center, she feels like she’s back home.
On Feb. 1, the Irish Cultural Center aso hosted a raffle to commemorate the true start of the spring season. Raffle prizes included a trip for two to Ireland, a gold cross from an Irish jeweler, along with a gift card to the Irish Pub, located within the center’s Morgan Road building.
Although Irish Cultural Center programs do not require advance registration, Lowney suggests calling ahead of time, to provide organizers with a general idea of how many participants they should be expecting. The center welcomes anyone and everyone.
Sponsors of the Irish Cultural Center include Westfield Bank, Freedom Credit Union, the Eastern States Exposition, Bates Fullam Insurance Agency Inc., Bresnahan Insurance Agency Inc., JSD Mechanical Inc., Complete Payroll Solutions, Polish National Credit Union and Ferriter Law.
More information on the ICC can be found at www.irishcenterwne.org and www.facebook.com/IrishCulturalCenter.