St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church (Manhattan)
Coordinates: 40°43′31″N 73°58′51″W / 40.72528°N 73.98083°W
St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, also known as St. Brigid's or Famine Church, is a church located at 123 Avenue B, on the southeast corner of East 8th Street, along the eastern edge of Tompkins Square Park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. Associated with the church is a parish school, Saint Brigid School, consisting of grades Pre-K through 8, which has been in existence since 1856.
The church is named after St. Brigid, the patron saint of babies, blacksmiths, boatmen, cattle, chicken farmers, children whose parents are not married, dairymaids, dairy workers, fugitives, Ireland, mariners, midwives, nuns, poets, printing presses, scholars and travellers. Like the neighborhood it serves, Saint Brigid's Church has had a colorful and tumultuous history since its beginnings in 1848.
Construction began in 1848 by Irish shipwrights for those fleeing the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). The architect of the church was Patrick Keely, who handcarved the gothic reredos himself.
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