Thin Places Revisited

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

~ From The Lorica of St. Patrick

Each time we journey to Ireland the thought is in the back of my mind that thin places* wait. Can I still my heart and mind and be open. Would we see through the veil and sense the "other"?

And they call to us, these special places, although we may not recognize it at the time.

I will start with a disclaimer. This year we arrived in Ireland with "different eyes." Our last trip was a pilgrimage of sorts. This time a different veil had lifted somewhat. We had removed our black rags ready for the next stage of mourning. Nature had called us to pay attention in a different, deeper way. We had begun to notice things we had not seen before or things we had seen, but not really noticed. And that attention would often distract us disturbing the peace and quiet I require to experience the thinning of the veil. Sometimes the world and the thinness battled for us. And sometimes they were one. It is hard to explain, but examples may help.

I. St. Patrick's Well, Tipperary:

We left Clonmel town on a short journey to St. Patrick's Well. We got lost and turned back to look more carefully for the turn (a common occurrence on this trip). When we arrived a well-dressed fellow was returning to his car, apparently having finished his morning prayers at the well. He assured us we could park along the road.

There is a physical journey to this place, a walk down many steps to a clearing in the woods where a spring fills a well and overflows into a pool. There are stations or numerical markers of a "circuit" in the surrounding rock wall, church ruins, an ancient rock cross, and quiet. 

I walked to the first numeral and began my prayers when a voice beside me exclaimed, "There's a bunny!" Now distracted, I looked up and, sure enough, enormous rabbits were grazing in the field beyond the wall. I thanked DH for his observation, took a photo, and asked if I could continue my prayers.

There was a bunny - the European Rabbit (cotton-tail and all).

Completing the circuit, we entered into the ruins and finding a crypt I began a silent "act of contrition." *** Once again I was interrupted by DH, "A MOUSE," stage whispered he. Yes, there it was, scurrying along at the base of a wall. [Whether it was a house mouse or a black rat, we will never know.] Once again we were jostled.

After that, the peace and place won out. Water flowed into a small stream. Pigeons cooed and other birds, strangers to us, sang their morning songs. We wandered the edges observing tiny creatures and flowers. 

Then a solitary orchid peaked from the grass and leaves -  a little gift.

It is an orchid I know - the Common Spotted Orchid (until this trip, the only orchid I have seen in Ireland).

As we were about to leave we were joined by a young man. We left him in his solitude and climbed the stairs back up to the world. We stood above for a long while. Tree creepers climbed up the trunk of one of the moss-flecked trees. 

It is a special place. It is a thin place. In returning there in thoughts and photos, I wonder now if the excited utterances - the joy and wonder - were simply a different experience of the other - the magic, like the spring water, flowing through.

The man himself. Statue of St. Patrick with indications that many come here to pray.

More indicators this spot is well loved and visited.

The springs in the well.

The young man's bike.

II. Killilagh Church, Doolin, County Clare:

A First Visit. 

We know the way here. The stones were waiting and greeted us. We brought flowers and drank our whiskey and wandered - finding a stone we had not noticed before. We knew we would return again before we left this town of music, laughter, and conversaion.

View out a shattered wall of the church.

I love these stones, each a variation on the Celtic cross. They seem to wait.

The stone we missed before.

We will be researching John and his unit.

And again. 

Something woke me early. The sun was up - in and out of the clouds. I stopped to feed some grass to the donkey and then headed up the road turning left past McDermott's Pub.

Beautiful morning - cloudy to the east with clear sky in the west - so clean one can see the sea.

 I walked the churchyard finding an old broken stone with an engraving about St. Columkille and including an act of contrition. There were other old stones disturbed and broken.

"ST. COLUMBKILLE, AN ACT OF CONTRITION" reads the top stone. The bottom is missing pieces, but should read, "O my God, my Redeemer, behold me here at Thy feet. From the bottom of my heart I am sorry for all my sins, because by them I have offended Thee, Who art infinitely good. I will die rather than offend thee again."

The sun struggled to break through the clouds.

Of course a Robin joined me this morning.

 The spiders had been busy.

And the sun broke through.

III. Kilmacduagh, Galway - The Seven Churches:

Kilmacduagh is a large complex of ruins, graveyard, and round tower near Gort. Perhaps it is the size of the complex, or the strange angle of the tower or the constant call of the blackbirds and pigeons, but Kilmacduagh can cause you to catch your breath.

The graveyard and the round tower. Perhaps it is the lean of that tower that adds to the strangeness of the place.

A monastery on the site was  founded by St. Colman, but none of the ruins date back to the time of Colman. Still the saint's grave is located in the middle of the graveyard. It is marked by yew trees.

St. Colman's grave.

It is rare to find this spot without tourists or visitors/mourners. Tourists may come to see the tallest round tower in Ireland, but few request the keys so they can see the inside of the ruins. Even the archeology students who arrived in a small bus stayed a short time, perhaps hurried along by frequent downpours that day. Few know to lay down three times on the saint's grave (cure for back ailments, it seems).

With the tower leaning a meter from vertical (doves and blackbirds flying in and out of the doors and windows), the ruins dotting the fields, and the Celtic crosses reaching up, it is a strange and eerie place.

Get the key from Mrs. Finnegan across the road. Take the time to see the inside features of the ruined buildings and churches. On one rainy grey day we got the keys and wandered. 

It is a special place, perhaps a thin place.

DH opens the door to the partially reconstructed "Abbot's House."

Because we were staying nearby for week, we visited the buildings and graveyard many times. I had conversations with tourists and locals. I listened to the coos of the pigeons and the raucous cries of the Rooks and Jackdaws.

And there were times I was unnerved and had to leave, returning only when accompanied by DH.

As we looked through the locked gate we recognized there was something to be seen inside.

This is the place to see - down the road from the graveyard. If the lock won't open at first turn it over and try again.

View of the round tower from the distant church ruins.

 

The columns hint at what the church would have been like.

This is one place where I noted grave slabs with a tapered shape.

Parts of a broken arch.

A primitive angel?

 

Locked gate to one of the churches

Detail of carved face over doorway.

Perhaps part of the altar?

Detail of altar. We've seen three "Crucifixions" of this style in this area. This is the only one we saw with a mourner crying out.

Butler crypt - Crucifixion, abbot, coat of arms

Crucifixion

Abbot

Not sure about this. I remember hearing that during Cromwell's conquest of Ireland, horses were housed in the ruins of abbeys and churches.

PRAY FOR THE SOUL OF CHARLES SHAGHNVSSY AND ELINOR SHAGHNVSSY ALEAS LYNCH 1708

PRAY FOR THE SOUL OF JAMES MVLANE AND HIS WIFE SARA LAVGHNAN WHO MADE THIS TOMB FOR THE ... 1709 [Still working on this one]

IV. St. Brigid's Well, Clare:

The small open area in the center leads to the a room and the well. The stairs take one to the top of this hill, bushes full of ribbons, and a graveyard.

Statue of St. Brigid

A sensitive once told me that I needed to be careful about what I brought home from estate sales, because sometimes it was more than a table or chair. 

I wonder if the prayers and emotions sometimes attach to things left at shrines as well. We saw a few at St. Patrick's Well and in various cemeteries. But more than other places visited, St. Brigid's Well is overflowing with mementos - statues, coins, rosaries, prayer cards, photos, and more  - each representing faith to some and superstition to others. 

And on the hillside above are ribbons and shreds of cloth tied to bushes - each representing prayers, petitions. 

So many prayers.

The fuchsia give witness to the prayer trees.

The old rests above the ancient.

What is it about these places? Who can say? All I know is that the otherness has been recognized in many long before Christian missionaries came to Ireland. Many of them started as pagan worship sites that were "Christianized" by Patrick and others.


NOTES:

*http://walkinthepark-padimus.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-thin-places.html
http://walkinthepark-padimus.blogspot.com/2016/07/remembering.html 

 **http://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/christian-inspiration/pressing-into-thin-places.aspx?p=3

***While spiritual, I do not consider myself a particularly devout person. Some prayers simply begin automatically, a result of my upbringing in Catholic schools.

**** https://www.dochara.com/ireland/places-to-visit/churches-holy-places/


For more about St. Patrick's Well:
http://irelandsholywells.blogspot.com/2012/06/saint-patricks-well-clonmel.html
http://www.megalithicireland.com/St%20Patrick%27s%20Holy%20Well,%20Clonmel,%20Tipperary.html

For more about Killilagh:
http://www.secret-ireland.com/killilagh-church/

For more about Kilmacduagh:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmacduagh_monastery

For more about St. Bridget's Well: 
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-brigid-s-well