Brigid was born daughter to a chieftain and a slave woman, and brought up by a druid. Her life was marked by miracles from an early age which impressed the king of Leinster, who granted her her freedom. She became a religious and founded a monastery over the fires of a pagan shrine at Kildare, and developed into a cathedral city of culture and learning. She and her friend, St Patrick, are regarded as the Pillars of the Irish people.