All posts tagged Rag Tree

  • St Brigid’s Well & Exit 13

    Just off the M7 (the primary road between Dublin and Limerick/Cork), lies St Brigid’s Well. This is a very active site associated with one of the most prominent Irish saints. While Feb 1st is the main day to visit the well, it receives pilgrims throughout the year.

    The well is only a few minutes from Exit 13 on the motorway, a junction more associated with the adjacent Kildare Village Outlet Centre. This position presents a geographical juxtaposition between the modern, flowing motorway and the stationary, sedate well. Two aspects of Irish social and cultural life overlap here. The new roadway designed to seamlessly connect major urban areas, with the purpose built retail centre, boasting world-famous brands, is a newer ‘Celtic Tiger’ Ireland. While, St Brigid’s Well, a site off heritage and spiritual/religious activities, seems to be of an older, vernacular Ireland. However, there isn’t a tension, more of a co-existence. People visit either, both, and neither. Perhaps, approaching Exit 13, you might consider this and what you will do.

    St Brigid's Well, enclosed by a low circular stone wall.

    St Brigid’s Well, enclosed by a low circular stone wall.

    A rag tree by the well, with a selection of fabrics, tokens, and other items hanging off a branch.

    A rag tree by the well, with a selection of fabrics, tokens, and other items hanging off a branch.

    A statue of the saint by a modern structuring housing votive offerings.

    A statue of the saint by a modern structuring housing votive offerings.

  • St Brigid’s Well, Clare: 1st Feb 2013

    A selection of photographs and an audio recording taken today (St Brigid’s Day, 2013) at St Brigd’s Well, Liscannor Clare. There was a steady flow of people visiting the well. A mass was due to be held there at noon, weather permitting; however, it was said in the parish church instead. Most of the visitors took away a bottle of the water, while some engaged some in prayer patterns.  A number of votive offerings were left in the well and rags tied to the trees adjacent to the well and pattern route.

    St Brigid's Well, Liscannor, Clare St Brigid's Day 2013

    St Brigid’s Well, Liscannor, Clare. The well is located at the rear of an artificial grotto or passage way, which is filled with votive offerings.

    A group doing their 'rounds' at the statue.

    A group doing their ’rounds’ at the statue.

    Crowds gathering by the well, the queue to the well can be seen coming out of the archway.

    Crowds gathering by the well, the queue to the well can be seen coming out of the archway.

    A woman doing the 'rounds'

    A woman doing the ’rounds’

    An hay arch (hay wrapped over a metal frame) covers the entrance to the well, it is adorned with St Brigid's Crosses

    An hay arch (hay wrapped over a metal frame) covers the entrance to the well, it is adorned with St Brigid’s Crosses

    Collecting the holy water

    Collecting the holy water

    The visit to the well frequently involves a lighting of a candle. This little alcove is adjacent to the well, it's a lovely micro-space.

    The visit to the well frequently involves a lighting of a candle. This little alcove is adjacent to the well, it’s a lovely micro-space.

    A recording of the water in St Brigid’s Well

  • Rag Tree St Gobnait’s Cork

    A collection of photos concerning the rag tree at St Gobnait’s monastic site in Ballyvourney, Co Cork. Clockwise from bottom left: a selection of larger objects at the base of the tree, including a motorbike helmet, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, candle holders and flowers; a profile view of the rag tree located next to St Gobnait’s Well (obscured behind the tree) and the strips of material – from which these trees gain their name – hanging off different branches; a close perspective of very personal votive offerings, such as a keyring, a pen and lengths of wool, whose true meaning is only known to those who left them here; a number of rosary beads hanging together; a significant number of memorial cards and photos are pinned to tree, reinforcing its role as a place for personal reflection and communal expressions of grief.