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 […]
Schools' Folklore Project
In pursuit of two grumpy & enigmatic saints: a day on the Beara
Long ago St. Finnian and another Saint were out boating in the Kenmare River, and a British Man of War came along. The two Saints came into the land to preach to the people, and the owner of the Man of War stole their boat. When they came back to where they left it, they […]
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 […]
A Peregrination Part 2: meet the family
In A Peregrination Part 1, we followed St Gobnait as she started her journey from Inis Oirr on the Aran Islands, through Kerry, Limerick and Waterford as she searched for the place of her resurrection – identifiable by seeing nine white deer. She has already seen a smattering of deer, left a scattering of churches, […]