How nice to be out and about in County Kerry after a long enforced lockdown due to Covid-19. We spent a few days in Waterville on the Iveragh Peninsula mainly in pursuit of St Finán Cam. This elusive and complex saint is fascinating and may need a blog to himself at some point for he […]
pilgrimage
An Turas: in the footsteps of St Crohane
Tobar an Bhile, St Crohane’s Well near Castle Cove on the Ring of Kerry was the well that originally sparked my interest in Irish holy wells. Way back on the 30th July 1998 (I remember the date exactly as it was my son’s 18th birthday) I left our holiday home in the lashing rain to […]
St Kevin’s Holy Well, Glendalough
Enjoying a few days in County Wicklow, we visited the magical site that is Glendalough. A place of outstanding natural beauty, it comprises a lush valley, surrounded by mountains and two lakes, the perfect place for a wild hike – or a hermitage. It is also rich in an incredible variety of historic and religious […]
Holy Fish, Faction Fighting & some Meandering
Who knew an innocent paragraph could lead down so many different paths and involve so much detective work and strange stories! Browsing through Sacred Waters, I came across an intriguing reference to a holy lake in County Cork that I had not yet come across: … the sacred lake of Loughadrine (Cork) which cured all […]
St Gobnait: she’s a fine woman
We left St Gobnait, weary but content having spotted her nine white deer in Ballyvourney, the predicted place of her Resurrection. Here she founded a nunnery, renowned for the caring of the poor and sick. But this is the thing, St Gobnait may have lived in the 7C but she remains very much alive and […]
A Peregrination Part 3: The home run
Having toured North Cork in part 2 of her peregrination, visited three possible sisters and a brother, St Gobnait remains in County Cork for the last leg of her journey; but before embarking on the home straight makes an inexplicable journey down to West Cork – sure, why wouldn’t you! Kilgobbin, Ballinadee St Gobnait then […]