Episodes
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Segment 1- Mindie
Welcome to Episode 17 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. This episode features Brittany France – an area with one of the largest collections of pre-Christian monuments in Europe. And these monuments are the run of the mill dolmens or passage tombs. The monuments in Brittany, in many instances, predate those in Ireland and the UK. Many believe the people who created the first of the monuments in Ireland and the UK came from Brittany. It was the Breton culture that established this pattern of erecting these ancient monuments.
We are so lucky to have the Brittany expert, Wendy Mewes on the podcast today. If you search the internet for guides in Brittany or books written on the ancient Breton landscape, you will find Wendy’s name and her website…. Wendymewes.com
She is a prolific writer and lecturer. On her website, she has a quote that reads, “My personal identity lies in the landscape.” Her books and writing speak to the concept that the landscape is alive and that there is an inherent “sense of place” unique to the Breton landscape. Wendy lives in Finistere – with its deep forests, sweeping shorelines and ancient stones – an amazing place for walking.
Wendy has a background in ancient history, she is the author of numerous books about Brittany, and her articles have appeared widely in the press. In France, she has been filmed for TV and contributed to radio broadcasts on historical subjects. She has worked extensively in promoting Breton history and culture to English-speaking visitors through talks, courses, and guided visits.
Wendy now concentrates on landscape writing, most recently with Spirit of Place in Finistere (2017). She is currently working on two new books: one about the Breton saints and the other on walking ancient paths in the region.
Now … on to our interview with Wendy.
segment 2 – interview with wendy mewes
What is it about BRITTANY that is most compelling?Brittany has a very beautiful and unspoilt landscape, full of hidden sites beyond linear time where eternal elementals still share their presence. It also triumphs in economies of scale with a wide variety of natural surroundings – secret river valleys, open moorland, deep forest, wild coast – within a relatively short distance. Many point to the power of granite, a stone forged from fire, for the strong atmosphere – it seems to affect people both well and badly! There is nothing excessive here: the scale of Brittany is so in tune with human scale that one can perfectly identify with the environment.
What is the background - history of the site or topic?Brittany was well-populated in the Neolithic period and has the greatest density of megaliths in Europe, with standing-stones and burial chambers widespread. These sacred places continued to be revered by succeeding Bronze and Iron Age inhabitants. The arrival of Celtic Christianity with evangelists from Great Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire saw many of these sites taken over and Christianised in the rivalry between Nature and God.
Are there any legends or mythology tied to the site or topic?Brittany is the home of a vast treasury of legend, especially in the Celtic oral tradition. The megaliths in particular have their own stories of origin (usually involving giants or fairies), and there are hundreds of varieties of little people active in the landscape, as well as countless tales of the Breton saints with all their miracles and triumphs. One of the striking themes of oral culture here is the ubiquitous presence of Death (personified by Ankou, the Grim reaper).
Do you think those stories have a deeper meaning?Stories inevitably spring from humans’ interest in themselves and our need for explanation and ‘certainty’. Many legends are self-referential and self-reverential. Often they resign us to our lack of control over life and death, making chaos less frightening. Here in Brittany they often reflect the early foundations of society as well as universal experiences. We look for intermediaries and intercession. Is it possible to pull back the curtain of culture and see a deeper state of being beyond? When you can reach out to landscape as a living thing rather than human being, magic can happen.
What surprises travellers about the site? …. something one wouldn’t expect?Visitors to Brittany are often surprised by the continuing power of oral culture today and the manifest pride in local heritage at all levels of society. Native language and traditional costumes are distinctive. Sacred processions, pilgrimages and boundary-walking (based on legend) still tie people to the land, and memory is regarded as a vibrant tool to preserve the past and animate the future.
What are your thoughts on thin places or liminal places where the physical and spiritual worlds seem to cross?For me personally these are usually places where the elements of earth (stone), air and water combine in a special harmony. Often it is necessary to get through the cultural filter to a purer state in order to feel oneself absolutely part of the natural world and truly alive.
What advice would you give to a traveler who is seeking out thin places or sites with spiritual energy?The megaliths are a tangible target and for many people a conduit to spiritual energy, but don’t neglect places were there is no hand of man on display: the granite boulders in a wide forest, the changes on a tidal shore, the hill-tops on the heath…
Wendy’s Books:
Spirit of Place in Finistere
Britany: A Cultural History
Discovering the History of Brittany
Walking the Brittany Coast
Legends of Brittany
FIND WENDY MEWES:
www.wendymewes.com
www.wendymewes.blogspot.com
Twitter: @brittanyexpert
SEGMENT 3 – Mindie on Brittany sites
PARIS to MOUNT ST-MICHEL
Go late – arrive at 4pm or there abouts. Check the tides.
Spend the night
Awesome things to do in Finiestere
Parish Closes – Parish Close at Saint-Thégonnec blog post by Mindie Burgoyne
Beaches – Côte Savage - Menhirs
Woodlands – Huelgoat, stones, forest walks, town.
Rive Café Librairie – Hotel restaurant – Restaurant de Bretagne, very good food.
Butter --- to die for. Baguettes, pastries, coffees – all good.
Menhirs – Ty Hir Gite
I See Hearts in Brittany – Menhir De Goalennac blog post by Mindie Burgoyne
Wedge tombs (Alley grave)
The Monts D’Arree
Quote from Wendy Mewes’ book, Things to See and Do in the Monts D’Arrée
The eerie landscape of trelless jutting crags, moors, peat-bogs and a misty bowl of marsh around the reservoir Lac St-Michel give a memorable impression of stark wilderness and is fittingly the source of many Breton legends
SEGMENT 4 –2019 Tours
By the time this podcast launches, I will be leading two group tours in Ireland. So for a total of three weeks, I’m not only away from my desk and podcasting equipment, I’m also under the pressures of managing a group tour.
Before I left I tried very hard to get the information about our 2019 tours launched and published on the website. They are set, but I’m still refining the details. So for those of you who are interested, I will be leading three group tours to thin places and one group tour for Mind, Body, Spirit Travel.
The first tour will be Scotland – The Western Isles. May 10 – 21 (11 days 10 nights)
Second tour will be the Mind, Body, Spirit Tour – a group tour to Newfoundland and Labrador. Dates for that tour are June 22 – July 1 We will tour the upper peninsula and the lower ridge of Labrador visiting 3 world heritage sites and some of the most awesome scenery in North America.
Third tour will be Discover the North in Ireland – September 8 to the 17th –
Fourth tour will be immediately after that one – The Hags Journey – a tour of Western Ireland focusing on heroic Irish feminine figures – saints and goddesses.
I intend to post something on the website http://thinplacestour.com about this so people can make note of the dates.
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Segment 1- Mindie
This episode is focused on the largest of Ireland’s islands – Achill Island. It lies of the coast of County Mayo, and can be accessed by a bridge. It’s an island of stories, of sorrow, of powerful women, and it has some of the most beautiful scenery is all of Ireland with sheer cliffs, amazing mountains, bogland, sandy beaches and historic villages. Achill Island - as my friend Ruth O’Hagan says, “… is one big, fat, giant amethyst sitting in Atlantic Ocean. And it’s true that amethysts were mined here, and one can still see the veins of purple in the gray rock cliff faces.
Achill is old landscape. Inhabitants of the island are said to go back 5000 years. The Belfast born painter, Paul Henry visited Achill Island with the intent of staying a few weeks, but found that he couldn’t leave. He said of Achill Island, “Achill … called to me as no other place had ever done.” He ended us staying for years.
Patricia Byrne is a writer who currently lives in Limerick, but is from County Mayo and has Achill Island ancestors. The stories of Achill Island and her ancestors captured her imagination so strongly that she has spent years researching and writing narrative non-fiction about the island’s history and people. She is a graduate of the NUI Galway writer program. Her most recently historical non fiction books are:
The Preach and the Prelate: The Achill Mission Colony and the Battle for Souls in Famine IrelandAnd
The Veiled Woman of Achill: Island Outrage and a Playboy Drama
In our conversation today, Patricia and I talk about the stories in her books, but also about Achill Island itself and many opportunities for travelers to the island.
Segment 2 - GUEST INTERVIEW
What is it about Slievemore Deserted Village that is most compelling?It is the mountainside remains of a village that was deserted during and after Ireland’s Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth century. It includes the remains of over 80 cottages and also potato ridges – lazy beds.
What is the background - history of the site?
When the potato famine struck in 1845 the movement of people form the village started through a combination of famine death, emigration, evictions and movement of the people towards the sea. This movement continued after the Great Famine and the settlement developed into a ‘booley’ village – with people using the village for summer grazing of their animals on the mountain slopes and moving down to the villages of Dooagh and other areas by the sea in the winter. Are there any legends or mythology tied to the site?The people tell stories of suffering associated with the village; of losing their lands on Slievemore and being forced to build new soil from sand, seaweed and peat closer to the seashore. The ‘lazy bed’ potato ridges are clearly visible to this day and evoke memories of the trauma of suffering arising from the failure of the potato crop.
Do you think those stories have a deeper meaning?The place and the stories carry the people’s memories of their history and their suffering. The historical trauma is buried in the soil.
What surprises travelers about the site? …. something one wouldn’t expect?People are surprised when they come close to the site and observe the detail of the houses and their construction methods as well as the still evident shape of the potato ridges dug into the mountain slopes. The Nobel Laurate writer Heinrich Boll had a cottage nearby in the 1950s and spoke of his astonishment on coming upon this village, ‘a skeleton of human habitation’.
What are your thoughts on thin places or liminal places where the physical and spiritual worlds seem to cross?The landscape carries powerful memories of our ancestors’ lives and their traumas. We can walk upon the ground where they lived, toiled and suffered. The place is a poignant image of leaving – through death and emigration – and absence.
What advice would you give to a traveler who is seeking out thin places or sites with spiritual energy?Learn what you can of the place’s history and stories. Then go to the place, walk there quietly and reflect on what the place and landscape conveys to you.
LINKS
BOOKS BY PATRICIA BYRNE
The Preach and the Prelate: The Achill Mission Colony and the Battle for Souls in Famine Ireland
The Veiled Woman of Achill: Island Outrage and a Playboy Drama
Patricia Byrne’s Website www.patriciabyrneauthor.com
Twitter @pbyrnewrites
Achill Heritage Center
Slievemore Deserted Village
sEGMENT 3 – mindie on achill island
Additional commentary
Other Sites and People Mentioned in this podcast
Francis Van Male and the Red Fox Press
Visual Poetry on Achill Island - by Mindie Burgoyne
Amethyst Hotel - - Now Amethyst Bar
Heinrich Böll – Irish Journal
St. Dymphna’s Holy Well
The Atlantic Drive
Artists who fell in Love with the Rugged Beauty of Achill
2019 Ireland Tours – Scotland and Ireland – visit http://thinplacestour.com
CONCLUSION
Excerpt from Irish Journal by Heinrich Böll, read by Mindie
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Episodes manquant?
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Segment 1- Introduction
Dolores has always been a teacher and educator. And she’s one of the most educated people I’ve ever met. At one time she was a biochemistry lecturer holding a Master of Science degree from Trinity College Dublin. Now she is an author and lecturer on spirituality and also leads pilgrimages to the sacred places in Ireland and Iona, Scotland. Dolores has written extensively on education, creativity and Celtic Spirituality. She has facilitated workshops and retreats in Celtic Spirituality and personal empowerment for over 25 years.
Her most recent book is Ever Ancient, Ever New: Celtic Spirituality in the 21st Century explores the wisdom of the Celtic tradition through the Celtic Year calendar and co created a perpetual Celtic calendar with US artist, the late Cynthia Matyi.
Dolores loves to share her passion for the wisdom held within the Celtic Year calendar which celebrates the festivals associated with the seasons of the Celtic year . Her work has been featured on RTE Radio and on RTE Television Nationwide She is a co-founder of both The Brigid of Faughart Festival now in its 10th year and the Brigids Way Pilgrimage which is in its 5th year.
segment 2 – Dolores whelan interview
WEBSITE: Dolores Whelan website http://www.doloreswhelan.ie
AUDIO CD: Journey through the Celtic Year CD by Dolores Whelan
CALENDAR: Celtic Calendar – Dolores Whelan and Cynthia Matyi
BOOK: Ever Ancient, Ever New: Celtic Spirituality in the 21st Century
BOOKS: Dolores Whelan’s other titles
Brigid of Faughart Festival
Newgrange
Beltany Stone Circle:
Beltany a Thin Place in Donegal
Bridge to the Otherworld: A Rainbow at Beltany
Sliabh na Calliagh - Loughcrew
Sean O’Duinn – Where Three Streams Meet
Sean O’Duinn – The Rites of Brigid, Goddess and Saint
Hill of Uisneach – Walking Meditation on the Hill of Uisneach
Hill of Tara
St. Brigid
SEGMENT 5 - CONCLUDE
Several of the sites mentioned by Dolores Whelan will be sites on our 2019 tours of thin places – in particular the Hill of Tara and Newgrange and Beltany Stone Circle. Stay tuned in our next episode for the announcement of dates and destinations for 2019. It looks like we will have 4 tours next year – Scotland – 2 in Ireland and one in North America
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Segment 1- Mindie
Welcome to Episode 14 of the Thin Places Travel podcast. This episode is a follow up to episode 13 where I interviewed Irish ancient monument expert, Anthony Murphy. Anthony is a husband and father of five who currently works full time as a journalist. He spends a portion of his free time examining, studying and photographing the ancient monuments in the Boyne Valley – a World Heritage Site. This Valley is not too far from where Anthony lives and if you follow his facebook page – Mythical Ireland, you’ll see that he gets out quite often to photograph the area at various stages of daylight and twilight throughout the changing seasons of the year.
In July of this year – 2018, Anthony and a friend were in the Boyne Valley doing some arial photography with drones. Anthony was able to see a previously undiscovered henge and two smaller mounds in a farmer’s field. The postholes were only evident because of the recent drought that Ireland had suffered. Anthony reported his findings and shared the videos with local television and by the next morning, his discovery had moved around the world – featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, NPR Radio and Time magazine.
In this interview Anthony shares information about the discovery and what it possible tells us about the ancient people who lived there.
Anthony Murphy on NEW henge discovery
Video that captures the new discovery
THE NEW HENGE OF NEWGRANGE - A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DISCOVERY
Additional video regarding the new discovery
THE NEWGRANGE HENGE: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE ASTRONOMICAL ALIGNMENT
Mythical Ireland - Anthony Murphy – website
Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past New book by Anthony Murphy (amazon ink) For autographed copy, purchase from Anthony’s website https://www.mythicalireland.com/
The New Henge of Newgrange: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Discovery – blog post by Anthony Murphy on the new henge he and a friend discovered in July 2018
Anthony Murphy YouTube Channel – Mythical ireland
Anthony Murphy Amazon Author Page
Mythical Ireland Facebook Page
Newgrange and Bru na Boinne – World Heritage Site
SEGMENT 5 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. You can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and facebook.com/thinplaces.
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes –and consider subscribing,
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Welcome to Episode 13 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. In this episode I interviewed Anthony Murphy, a historian and journalist and a remarkable photographer who lives in Drogheda, one of Ireland most ancient towns. Most of Drogheda is in County Louth, but a portion of it runs into County Meath – the ancient royal capital of Ireland where you find the Hill of Tara and the massive collection of ancient monuments in the Boyne Valley.
Anthony is an author, a husband and father of five children. By day he works as a journalist, but he has a passions include photography, astronomy and Irish mythology especially as they pertain to the ancient monuments found in the Boyne Valley near where he live and throughout Ireland. Anthony is the author of Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland’s Ancient Astronomers as well as several other books. His most recent work Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past features many of the same concepts and subjects that Anthony talks about on his YouTube Channel and in this interview.
This guy is full of information and ideas about the ancients. We use Anthony as a local guide for some of our Ireland tours.
I recorded this interview in May of 2018, and Anthony spoke about Newgrange and the Boyne Valley and the ancient people who once lived in the area. He talks extensively about the monuments and how they tie into Irish mythology. We closed that interview and I saved it for production in the summer of 2018.
But early one weekend morning in July of 2018, while doing some Arial photography of the Boyne Valley using drones with a friend, Anthony located a yet undiscovered ancient monument- actually several. The monuments were only visible because of the recent drought in Ireland. By the next day, Anthony’s photos and videos were featured on RTE television, and by the following day Anthony’s discovery was on NPR, The Washington Post, the New York Times and Time Magazine.
I couldn’t publish this general interview with Anthony without mentioning or including his new amazing discovery. So, we did a second interview, and it is featured in the next episode – Episode 14.
So, sit back and relax. Prepare to hear from one of the most brilliant, fresh minds focused on ancient Ireland. This interview with Anthony Murphy will give you a wealth of information on the ancient monuments of Ireland and the mystery that surrounds them.
Anthony Murphy on the boyne valley
Anthony Murphy discusses the Boyne Valley – Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and Irish Mythology related to this World Heritage Site.
Mythical Ireland - Anthony Murphy – website
Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past New book by Anthony Murphy (amazon ink) For autographed copy, purchase from Anthony’s website https://www.mythicalireland.com/
The New Henge of Newgrange: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Discovery – blog post by Anthony Murphy on the new henge he and a friend discovered in July 2018
Anthony Murphy YouTube Channel – Mythical ireland
Anthony Murphy Amazon Author Page
Mythical Ireland Facebook Page
Newgrange and Bru na Boinne – World Heritage Site
Mindie - Conclusion
We thank Anthony Murphy for being so generous with his time and offering such wisdom to you, our listeners. Please tune in to the next episode to hear about Anthony’s recent discovery of more ancient monuments in the Boyne – how the discovery was made and what the monuments tell us about the people of that time.
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Segment 1- Mindie
Kinsale – County Cork – off the coast of southern Ireland
Kinsale isn’t a thin place… sometimes you need to relax and rejuvenate and have fun. Most lovers of thin places and liminal spaces also love history and stories of local people – heroes, villains – and Kinsale is very rich in history that impacted the evolvement of society in the western world with the famous “Battle of Kinsale.”
Kinsale has two historic forts, Charles and James Forts. And so many other bits of interesting history.
Kinsale is of my favorite towns for relaxing. I love the vibe. The town is clean, vibrant It’s an art and foodie town. The people are friendly. It’s totally walkable and everywhere you look is color and light.
When you go to Kinsale a good way to get your bearings is to go on a tour guided by Don or Barry – on Don and Barry’s Historic Strolls. I was lucky enough to get an interview with Barry when I was in Kinsale recently.
segment 2 – guest interview
Barry Moloney – Don and Barry’s Kinsale Historic Stroll
Don and Barry’s Historic Stroll in Kinsale offers a walking tour full of history and interesting information about this seaside town in County Cork.
SEGMENT 3– Kinsale ghost tour
There are a few consistently operated ghost tours in Ireland. Being the owner of a ghost tour company here in the states, I always like to see what other companies and groups do when crafting and putting on a ghost tour. I’ve been on the ghost tour in Belfast and the Ghost Bus in Dublin. Both were great experiences through very different.
Kinsale has an interesting ghost tour. The term Ghost tour is so subjective. It can have multiple definitions in people’s minds. People can perceive ghost tours as anything from paranormal investigations to history walks to people dressed in character leading a theatrical performance.
Kinsale ghost tour is that kind of ghost tour – a performance and it’s quite comedic. Two actors, Brian O’Neill and Don Herlihy dress in character and lead their group of guests around the historic Kinsale town center and recount stories of ghosts and historical figures in way that keeps the guests’ attention and keeps guests laughing. This performance is so well done. And there are some elements of surprise.
The tour starts at Kinsale’s oldest tavern - the Tap Tavern, which has been owned by Brian O’Neill’s family since 1886. His mother, Mary O’Neill still owns it today and she and Brian manage the operations. Mary is often there when guests gather for the ghost tour. I had the pleasure of meeting her while I waited to speak to Brian.
The tour takes about 90 minutes. It covers all the interesting parts of the town and it is very entertaining. An evening well spent.
Don’t miss it if you’re in Kinsale.
Kinsale Ghost Tours
http://kinsaleperformanceevents.com/hentertainment/ghost-tout/
SEGMENT 4 – Ardmore in County Waterford
Ard Mohr means Great Height
Ardmore: Great Height – blog post by Mindie Burgoyne
A seaside resort and fishing village. It’s near Youghal in the south of Ireland – not too far from Kinsale or Cork City.
Ardmore is a thin place. I guess I sense the thinness of a place on the approach. Maybe there’s something about the round tower, maybe something about the old ruins. But as you climb the hill to the old monastic ruins you get a jolt of something when the round tower comes into view. It’s a seaside town with a beautiful beach and sheltered bay. It’s a resort town for tourists with stunning views of the bay and a cliff walk above the town.
There are also ecclesiastical ruins in Ardmore are associated with St. Declan, a 5th-century saint who established this monastic community here on a hill at Ardmore… in fact the name Ard Mor – means “Great Height.”
The devotional stops in Ardmore are traveled by pilgrims and associated with St. Declan. They include the ecclesiastical ruins up on the hill, a holy well, and a large stone on the beach.According to one of the Lives written about him, St. Declan was born in this region and later went to Rome and became a bishop. He left Rome and returned to County Waterford - - to Ardmore with plans to build a monastery. However, he left without his bell. A bishop’s bell was similar to his crozier. A symbol of his authority. But because Declan was so special and so blessed, the angels set his bell afloat on a stone that traveled all the way across the sea to Ardmore. It still sits on the beach. It’s a large stone sitting atop two smaller ones and the stone is said to have curative powers for those who crawl under it.
That would be a task.
But these old legends were begun in a different and told to people who have a different perspective. Thinking patterns were very abstract. The meaning of the story was rooted in the understanding that an object could connect people in this world to the powers and graces of the eternal world.
Maybe that connection brought healing. Maybe it brought wisdom. But being close to these sacred monuments elevates our awareness and spiritual vibration. I’ve stood by that stone and thought about the stories and all the pilgrims who have stood in the same place. I’ve even found one small stone in the shape of a heart on that rocky beach around St. Declan’s stone that I brought home with me. Holding it in my hand 3000 miles away from Ardmore can take me back there in my mind. There is value in these thin places.
From the stone on the beach, the pilgrims travel up the main road where there is access to a path that turns into a gorgeous cliff walk. On the path is St. Declan’s Holy well. It is a beautiful spot. The well has clean water (also said to have curative powers) and a little shrine has been built around it with stone. It has an opening for the well and then three stone crosses atop. Actually, that’s only two now. The crosses were said to represent Calvary. One cross on the left for the unrepentant thief, a high cross in the middle to represent Jesus and a cross on the right to represent the repentant thief. Sadly, the cross representing the unrepentant thief has vanished. The locals say it was stolen. … which is ironic.
Farther past the well is a pathway that winds along the cliffs with spectacular views of the bay and ocean.
Then atop the hill behind the village are the remains of an old monastery. The buildings date back to the eighth century and were placed atop the site where Declan had his monastery in the 5th century. Those building – likely made of wood are long gone.
The oldest of the ruins is St. Declan’s oratory which is said to have been erected overtop the remains of the saint. There is also a 12th century round tower which is in beautiful shape. It’s about 100 feet high, which is typical for round towers. Human remains were found facing east below the Ardmore’s round tower, which indicates that it was built over graves in a graveyard. There’s a sorrowful tale associated with the round tower. It was a refuge for Irish being pursued by English forces. About 20 of them were holed up in the tower on various floors. They surrendered and were all hanged.
There’s also a roofless 13th-century church ruin with a giant 8th century carving from an earlier church attached to the gable wall. The carving nearly spans the width of the gable wall and the designs are similar to what you see on high crosses. There’s an image of Adam and Eve, Gift of the Magi and of the Judgement of Solomon. These were likely used for teaching the local people about the faith.
I stood in front of the Gable wall and pointed out the carving to my tour group and they like most visitors, thought the carvings were beautiful. But when I told the story of the Judgement of Solomon to the group in front of the carving, there was a moment of transformation.
I said … "You remember the story. Two women claim to be mother to the same baby and they go to King Solomon to get him to resolve the matter. King Solomon said, since you two can’t agree, I will cut the baby in half and give each of you a share. He called for his swordsman to do the deed and one of the women cried out, 'No. Don’t. The child is not mine.' And pointing to the other woman said, 'She is the real mother.' Solomon in his wisdom knew that this woman who was speaking had to be the baby’s rightful mother because only a mother’s love would be so unselfish as to sacrifice her own her own happiness and endure almost unbearable sorrow in order to save her child.
So, Solomon made his judgment and gave the child to the woman who cried out.
At the end of the story, the etched images in the gable wall seemed to have so much more depth, meaning. There’s something about marrying the spoken word of a sacred story to a physical image that represents the story. Something greater than the sum of those two elements grows. It becomes an experience. One of the guests said she imagined the artist, what he was thinking as he carved those images so long ago - - and she wondered if he ever imagined people would be admiring his work ten centuries after he carved it. It was such a powerful moment for all of us.
Inside the church ruins in a little niche is a very well-preserved ogham stone. This is a tall stone with old Irish writing that consists of etch marks along the sides. These were often personal inscriptions… the name of the person etching the stone – a mark of memory to leave behind.
Ardmore may not be one of the top sights that pilgrims seek out, but it’s every bit as powerful as the other sacred sites.
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. You can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and facebook.com/thinplaces.
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Segment 1- Mindie
Martin Byrne lives in Cliffony in north County Sligo, but he spent many years living at Carrowkeel, close to the shores of Lough Arrow. Carrowkeel is a 5000 year old megalithic complex of ancient buildings that served as tombs scattered across the summits of the Bricklieve Mountains. This area is in the close company of other megalithic sites that include Kesh Corran also known as the caves of kesh, the Heapstown Cairn, Creevykeel Court tomb, Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, Knocknarea – the sacred mountain with the large cairn on top.
Martin states on his website that several of the Carrowkeel megalithic chambers are illuminated by the light of the sun and the moon.
Martin has spent many years entering content onto his website carrowkeel.com. It’s one of the most comprehensive websites for information on sacred Ireland. He is a husband and father, a musician and writer and tour guide. You might be able to meet Martin if you visit Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery in Sligo, because he works there as a guide.
For the last 20 years Martin been a freelance guide. Now he works for Ireland’s OPW (Office of Public Works - which includes tourist sites), based at Carrowmore and research local history, specifically Fr Michael O'Flanagan, a local rebel priest who was in Sligo in 1915.
Martin also teaches and plays traditional Irish music. he and his musician colleagues have a session in the house every week, with up to 30 people attending. We’re very happy to have Martin as a guest on this podcast.
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segment 2 – Martin byrne interview
Martin Byrne - About Martin Byrne
Martin’s websites and discussion groups
Carrowkeel – Sacred Ireland website
The Carrowmore Circles
Creevykeel Court Tomb
Martin Byrne on Facebook
Fr. Michael O’Flanagan website
SEGMENT 3 – CALDRAGH ANCIENT CEMETERY
Janus Figure - after Janus the roman god with two faces
Caldragh Cemetery
St. Brynach’s Church in Nevern, Wales – Nevern High Cross
Bleeding Yews of Nevern
Sacred Ireland, by Cary Meehan
Five Steps for the Traveler to Thin Places:
How were you led there? Trace the route that led you Notice the signs as you enter - elevate your senses Record your memories. Build your internal gateway at home. -
Segment 1- Mindie
I am so delighted to have Mary Reynolds on the podcast today. Mary is quite an extraordinary person. She’s a garden designer, a philosopher – a writer. She is the youngest woman to win a Gold Medal for garden design at the Chelsea Flower Show – since its inception over 100 years ago.
Mary grew up on a small mixed farm in Wexford, in the south of Ireland. 20 years ago she set up her own company designing gardens in Dublin. A few years later, having lost the will to live from constantly creating modern gardens, she realized that she could no longer continue shaping land in the same way and re-imagined her work to become nature rather than human centered.
Mary brought her new, still relatively unformed ideas to be showcased at the Chelsea flower show in London where she achieved a gold medal, unusual at the time for a first-time effort. Since that time, she has built up quite a cult following in the world of garden design and is considered unique in her field.
Another U-turn came a few years ago when Mary realized we had to rethink the whole relationship we had with the land and re-examine what it means to truly design in harmony with nature. Those latest revelations lead to ‘The Garden Awakening – Designs to Nurture Our Land and Ourselves’ being born, which imparts so much wisdom to people who are fashioning their own gardens and wild places.
The book was written at night, over four years, when her two young kids were asleep… and Mary was almost awake. It was published in 2016. The book was given a video accolade by British anthropologist, Jane Goodall.
Mary has appeared on numerous television programs, podcasts. She offers talks and workshops about her work she does and her core beliefs. and she likes to campaign against evil multinational efforts to cull us all off with pesticides, herbicides and GMO’s. Her views are wonderfully articulated in a TEDx Talk that we’ve posted in the show notes.
Mary is trained as a Reiki master, and … in her own words - is not a bad cook (to her mother’s eternal surprise) Mary states that she spends a lot of time growing and guiding her own land into a place where people can come and stay and learn, but most of her time is spent being a harassed single mum, trying to grow two cheeky but wonderful boy and girl monsters and a crazy golden-doodle with as much grace and love as possible.
The Irish writer and director Vivienne De Courcy made a movie about a journey in Mary’s life – Dare to be Wild, released in 2014 - now available on Netflix. In the final credits of that film there is statement that Mary Reynolds is listed as one of the 10 best garden designers of all time.
segment 2 – Mary Reynolds interview
Mary Reynolds website marymary.ie
Skype maryreynoldsireland
The Garden Awakening – book by Mary Reynolds
Dare to Be Wild – Movie on Netflix
Meet the Makers – YouTube video by Irish National Heritage Park
Mary Reynolds TED Talk
Mary Reynolds YouTube Channel
The Chelsea Flower Show - website
SEGMENT 3 – Wicklow sites
Tomnafinnoge Wood – Ancient woodland
Last remaining native oak woodland in Ireland.
Last surviving fragment of the Great Oak forests in South Wicklow – believe to have covered 1000 acres in the 15th century. Widely exploited during the 16th century when the British were building war ships.
Today it has about 2000 trees and covers about 165 acres. 3 different marked trails. The Oak Walk and the Hazel Walk are both looped and easy to navigate.
Though it sits along the old rail bed and there is signage marking the trails, the woodland has a strong energy about it. It feels more wild as you move into it and away from the river and railbed.
It’s not easy to find. From Tinahely head south on the R749. Pass the Tinahely Farm and at the next crossroad make a left.. The signage says to Coolboy and Tomnafinnoge Wood. Down that road about a mile is the car park for the wood entrance.
Tinahely Farm is a great stopping place for lunch. Great shop, good food and farm activities for kids.
Shillelagh – Old Shillelagh Stick Makers.
Shillelaghs still being handcrafted today. Run by Liam Kealy Great Grandfather Denis passed the skill to Liam’s father, and he on to Liam. Family has a long history of craftsmen. Making a shillelagh from blackthorn is a three year process. Great storyteller. Interesting craftsman. Sticks and wands of various sizes mostly made of blackthorn or oak.LINKS
Tomnafinnoge Wood
Tinahely Farm Shop
Old Shillelagh Stick Maker
Shillelagh Stick Maker, Liam O’ Caidhla
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The burren – County Clare
The Burren in west County Clare is our featured destination in this podcast. Entire books are written about this 200 acres of rocky limestone that borders the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a landscape of myths and legends and sacred ground with archaeological remnants that date back thousands of years. It’s also a landscape of contrasts – the gray rock against the blue sky, mountains and hills that rise out of a seemingly endless flat bedrock. The contrasts are particularly powerful in the spring when the flowers of the Burren come into bloom. Tiny little orchids pop up in between the slabs of limestone
Most people who visit the Burren drive through and stop at the most famous locations such as the Poulnabrone dolmen or the Burren Perfumery. They take the obligatory photo of Lamanegh Castle and maybe stop at Corcomroe Abbey.
The Buren is a sacred landscape. The poet and philosopher, John O’Donohue, who was from the Burren region said of the Burren:
It’s a bare limestone landscape. And I often think that the forms of the limestone are so abstract and aesthetic, it is as if they were all laid down by some wild surrealistic kind of deity. Being a child and coming out into that, it was like a huge wild invitation to extend your imagination.
Quote extracted from the Onbeing podcast – March 18, 2016
I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been to the Burren. On my first trip to Ireland, I had no role in planning the itinerary. I simply went along with friends who’d invited me and enjoyed the sites they chose. I can recall my friend, Hal McConnell – a great mystic with a brilliant and the planner of our Ireland tour saying, “Now, we’ll enter a mystical landscape – the Burren where everything seems harsh and stark, but there’s an underlying sacredness about the place.
Though you can catch glimpses of the highlights by driving through, a better experience is to walk the Burren. Get out into the landscape and place yourself in that sacred space. It’s so worth stopping, moving, absorbing that special energy unique to the Burren.
Or better yet, treat yourself to a walking tour led by a guide who knows his or her way around and can reveal parts of the landscape you won’t be able to see on your own. Our favorite Burren tour guide is Tony Kirby. And he’s our guest on this podcast.
Interview with Tony Kirby
Tony Kirby is full time tour operator offering walking tours through the Burren. He’s been offering these tours for 15 years through his company, Heart of the Burren Walking Tours
www.heartofburrenwalks.com
Tony Kirby Facebook Page
The Burren and the Aran Islands: A Walking Guide by Tony Kirby
Tony comments about the Burren that it is a rare global landform – limestone pavement. Of world importance botanically for its unique mélange of wild flowers. Exceedingly rich cultural (archaeological) landscape – “a vast memorial to bygone cultures” with a 6,000-year-old story of low-scale pastoralism.
The Burren’s natural and cultural landscape is home to much legend and mythology. His favorite site in the Burren is St Colmán’s Hermitage – a mainland equivalent of Skellig Michael. A hermitage of Early Christian origin set in mature forest at the base of the region’s sheerest cliff. Rich in legend of the Saint Colmán.
The Burren (200 sq miles) is less visited than other big-ticket Irish Atlantic destinations like the Cliffs of Moher, peninsular Kerry, Connemara, the Aran islands and Galway city. However, those that visit the Burrren are struck by how important a heritage landscape it is internationally and secondly by the fact the extensive rocky landscape is in part man-made i.e. caused by prehistoric agri-vandalism.
Tony’s has a blog about the Burren that is done with renowned landscape photographer Carsten Krieger at www.burrentales.com
Tony is soon launching a site with photographer Karin Funke. - The Holy Wells of the Burren www.burrenholywells.com
Launching website very soon – The Killeens of the Burren. Killeens are burial grounds of unbaptised children.
Politics by W.B. Yeats
corcomroe Abbey
Corcomroe Abbey is a 12th century monastic ruin that was once occupied by the Cistercians. It is a place of two worlds. If you ever wanted test yourself for sensitivity to the otherworld, this would be a perfect spot to start.
Have you ever felt like you were being surrounded by memories? Graveyards do this to me. I know I feel differently when I cross the threshold into a graveyard… but if I really examine what it is that I’m feeling, it’s a swirling around of memories – the stories of the dead, of those who mourned them, stood by the gravesides, came back and visited, the sculpture who created the ornate markers, the stone cutter who etched the names into stone…
Corcomroe projects its memories into the landscape.
If you quiet yourself as you approach the abbey ruins, you’ll begin to feel the memories. This often happens to me in monastic ruins, but none so much as at Corcomroe.
Notice the details. They’ll speak to you. In your mind, talk to the effigy of the Chieftain king. Internally hear what he says to you. Look above him and notice the smile on the bishop’s face. With your inner eye, see the monks walking the cloister walk. Follow them, hear their prayers. It is so easy to step back in time here.
I have this little spiritual exercise I do when I walk in the wild places. As I internally communicate with the spirit world, I find that I’m often confirmed by the shape of hearts. Heart shaped stones, shapes in the trees, clouds, leaves on the ground. I see hearts. But only at these special times. The last time I was Corcomroe, I snapped a picture with my phone of the gable wall with the large window. I didn’t see it until I looked at the digital image – but there – big as life on the wall was shadow cast by the sun in the perfect shape of a heart. I’ll post that picture in the Shownotes.
The effigy of King Conor O’Brien is what people tend to remember about Corcomroe. And that’s just what was intended some 750 years ago when it placed there.
In 1268 Conor O'Brien, Lord Thomond and his son, his daughter, his grandson and a number of others were slain in a battle very near the abbey. Conor O'Brien's body was laid in a tomb under the floor of Corcomroe abbey against the north wall. A niche was cut in over it and an effigy placed on top of the tomb. This effigy atop King Conor O'Brien's tomb is one of only two effigies of Irish kings. the two kings died about the same time and the effigies appear identical.
Beneath the floor next to him are the graves of some of his warriors.
This short poem appeared in the Irish Monthly in 1911 by R.M.G.
Conor O'Brien of the kings.
How sound you sleep in Corcomroe!
The night wind in the choir sings
The hymns of many a year ago.
What day was that when you were borne
By warriors from the field of red !
Your blade was broke, your side was torn:
They laid you in your royal bed.
They ripped the chancel's paven floor
And laid your warriors there in rows:
Their requiem is the tempest's roar,
Their souls are sped where no man knows.
~Background music Long Road Ahead by Kevin MadLeod – incompetech.com
Corcomroe Abbey – Monastic Ruins in the Burren by Mindie Burgoyne
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. You can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and facebook.com/thinplaces.
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast. And consider subscribing. In our next episode, our guest will be Mary Reynolds, an Irish garden and landscape designer famous for her wild gardens and her focus on bringing back the wild places. So long, for now.
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Today we’re talking about Fairies. There are many concepts about fairies. My only association with the word fairy was the Tinkerbelle sort in Peter Pan. Sort of a Fairy Godmother. The tooth fairy. A good little angel. Fairies that I heard about growing up were good… and there was never any worry about a fairy causing mischief or harm.
But in the pre-Christian Celtic countries the concept of fairies was different. These beings were feared because they could curse you or bring you bad luck. You didn’t mess with the fairies. You didn’t disturb their domain or their rath. You stayed away from fairy hills or forts. You didn’t cut down the lone hawthorn bush because it might be a fairy tree – a fairy domain.
There’s a well-known poem about fairies, written by a man from County Donegal named William Allingham. It describes this apprehension about interacting with the fairies.
Up the airy mountain
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a -hunting
For fear of little men.
Fairies were known to steal babies and replace them with a fairy changeling who would bring bad luck to the house.
They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake
On a bed of flag-leaves
Watching till she wake.
The hawthorns are associated with the fairies. All across Ireland you see lone hawthorn trees and bushes standing solitary in fields. Many of the farmers won’t cut them. Ireland built a dual lane highway around one hawthorn bush because none of the workers laying down the highway would cut the bush down. Eventually they rerouted the highway around the bush so as not to disturb it.
By the craggy hill-side
Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn-trees
For pleasure here and there.
Is any man so daring
As dig them up in spite,
He shall find their sharpest thorns
In his bed at night.
To many people – especially in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England – fairies are real. They are part of a communion of elemental beings that exist in a parallel realm or dimension. And there are people who interact with the fairies and connect with their energy. Our guest today is one of these people. She not only connects with the fairies – she uses their energy in holistic healing practices.
Carmel Costello is a Spiritual Healer and kinesiologist who grew up on a farm in Co. Kilkenny. And on that farm, Carmel developed a healthy sense of respect for nature and what it produced. After finishing school, she spent years in the catering industry and had her own restaurant. In the year 2000, Carmel found herself working with adults who had learning difficulties, and it was from that experience that she developed her skill with energy healing.
Carmel says that she always knew I was different. I felt different energies outside of me. I felt other people’s energy and the energy in nature – the plants and animals. In 2007 she studied kinesiology for two years and received a diploma in 2009 completing her training in many energy therapies such as Reiki, Quantum touch and Magnified Healing.
At present she works as a healer supported by the energies of the divine, the fairies, the little people, the nature spirits. This support came about once she acknowledged their presence and recognized that they came to help.
Carmel has felt the fairy energy quite strong. They’ve guided her in many ways – specifically in making fairy houses as healing tools.
Carmel also has a unique sense of the landscape and the layers of energy and elemental beings in the sacred landscape, and we’re going to talk with her today about the sacred landscape in Kilkenny.
Doon Hill is located in Aberfoyle, Scotland - about 30 miles north of Glasgow near Loch Lomond – actually located in the Trossachs National Park.
The fairies stories associated with Doon Hill came from folklorist and minister, Robert Kirk. He was born – the son of a minister in 1644. He was the seventh son and said to have the gift of second sight. There was a belief that a kind of magic built up in a woman’s womb with the birth of each son, so that by the 7th son, the magic was ripe and imparted to that child giving him special gifts – usually of the psychic nature.
Kirk who became known as the Fairy Minister - is mostly known today for his communing with the fairies on Doon Hill.
His manse was located near it – he could see it.
He would take walks on the hill and commune with the fairies. Eventually he wrote down his experiences between 1691 and 1692 but died before it could be published. 123 years later, Sir Walter Scott published the book under the title The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies. It is still in print today.
Kirk describes the fairies as
….said to be of middle nature between man and angel
Intelligent fluidous spirits, light changeable bodies.
Somewhat of the nature of a condensed cloud
Best seen at twilight
On one of his nightly walks, Kirk disappeared. Some say he was not seen for days and was eventually found dead at the top of Doon Hill in his nightshirt. Many people surmised that the fairies had taken him because he was revealing their secrets in his writings. Some say that the whole story about him being found dead is a lie. That he was never found.
There was an incident where someone said they saw Kirk shortly after he disappeared. He told the person that the fairies had kidnapped him and he was to tell one of Kirk’s relations - named Graham that the only way he (Kirk) would attend Graham’s yet to be born son’s baptism and at that moment of appearance, Graham was to throw a dirk (knife) directly over Kirk’s head. This ritual would release him from captivity.
Kirk did appear at the baptism, but Graham was too frightened by the vision and the fairies. He didn’t throw the dirk.
So Robert Kirk – the man with second site - faded away… forever to be known as the Minister of the Fairy Queen. People believe that his soul is trapped inside the tall Scots Pine tree at the top of Doon Hill – The tree is no known as “The Minister’s Pine.”
Such a mystery.
His old manse sits just up from the graveyard. They both face Doon Hill –known now as the Fairy Knowe.
Fairy knowe is a Scottish term. The Irish use the term “rath” as you hear from Carmel to refer to small hills where the fairies live.
A fairy knowe in Scotland is typically a small hillock, often wooded with mature deciduous trees. There is also some sort of archaeological feature – a slab, a well or as on Doon Hill – a tree. The fairy knowes are entrances into a mystical realm. A private domain of the fairies that is fiercely protected. These places were especially “active” during liminal times – dawn and twilight.
We visited the Fairy Knowe, which is Doon Hill. It’s not a huge hill or a mountain that is quickly noticed in the landscape. But it is a little unusual in that it has a little “cap” on the top.. A small bump almost like a nipple. That bump is the Minister’s Pine.
The pathway to the top is clearly marked. It begins as a slow wind around the base of the hill. There is a little stopping place before the path gets too steep. In that place is a fairy cottage that someone carved out of an oak stump. The stump is taller than a man – maybe 6 and half feet. It’s perfectly carved to make a very tall fairy house complete with a doors and windows – front steps, roof shingles and a chimney. It sits in a small oak grove. Young oak saplings cover the ground. People have left tokens – crystals, stones, little objects – all around the house. Many have pushed coins into the stump – so you see rows and rows of coins half embedded in the wood – reminders of fairy pilgrims who stopped at this little fairy cottage. There’s another stump that has been carved into a large mushroom – also with half visible coins pushed into it.
At the top of the hill, The Minister’s Pine is evident. It’s right in the middle of the clearing and covered with ribbons, rags, notes, and other tokens left behind. There are similar tokens on the surrounding trees. There are also clusters of sticks and wood shaped into little mounds – kind of like building a cairn with wood. Children have left notes with wishes on them. One that I saw said “More Legos” another said, “I wish for a cupcake every Monday.”
It’s a powerful spot. People are naturally quiet there.
I shot a little video near the Fairy cottage and got a little dancing green light in the lower portion of the screen. It could have been caused by the rays of the sun … or not.
Doon Hill is a worthy visit for those who love thin places.
I’ve included links to the walking routes around the hill. The entire experience takes about two hours.
The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies , by Robert Kirk
Walking Route for Doon Hill – Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle Walking Brochure
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I met Dara Molloy over 20 years ago when we were both at a Céile Dé conference in County Wicklow. I met many great thinkers and spiritual leaders at that conference – many of whom are friends today. That conference gave me a proper introduction to Celtic Spirituality. Dara and his wife were a young couple at the time, living on Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands. Back then, Inis Mór was even more remote than it is today. They had their young son with them. At some point in the conference, I think it was actually a break out session because there were few of us in the room – Dara spoke about living on the island and the hardships of living without modern conveniences (like washing machines). And I recall that one crystal clear moment when he said something that I never forgot. He said, “Inis Mór is my place of resurrection.”
I’ve spent the last twenty years or so, contemplating that concept and what it means. The clip that you heard from Dara during the intro is his definition of a place of I’ve heard the story of St. Gobnait and we shared her story in episode one. Just to briefly recap, St. Gobnait was a 6th century young woman fleeing from some persecutor. She landed in the Aran Islands and set up a monastic community on Inis Oírr (the smallest island). Then she had a vision that she was to go on a journey to find her place of resurrection. She was to journey across Ireland until she found nine white deer grazing. There she would find her place of resurrection. She traveled through the beautiful hills and valleys of west cork and finally found her nine white deer in Ballyvourney. She set up her community there and performed many great works for the local people. They still revere her today especially around her burial site, church ruins and her holy well.
There so many sacred places in Ireland. And Inis Mór has an abundance. Let’s get to the interview with Dara and hear more about the island and places of resurrection.
segment 2 – guest interview
Highlights from the Dara Molloy interview
ON PLACES OF RESURRECTION
[The term Places of Resurrection] came from the Celtic monks. The Celtic monks, I think were very creative and imaginative in the way the they understood scripture. And particularly I think they were interested in images and parables and stories and metaphors because that’s the approach to spirituality that the Celtic monks have always taken. It’s not logical. It’s not analytical. They never became theologians. They more became poets.
Part of their whole way of life as spiritual people was to – in their earlier part of life – was to wander … ‘wander for Christ’ they ended up calling it. … This wandering generally didn’t have a focal point. It wasn’t like they were on pilgrimage to place X or place Y. It more that they were allowing the spirit to guide them wherever it led them. And they believed that if they did that authentically that eventually they would find their place of resurrection – that’s what they called it. The place of resurrection would be where they settled down and that would be where they would discover who they were really meant to be, and the work they were meant to do.
ON INIS MÓR
The best way to describe Inis Mór is that it’s magical. It’s amazing. It’s an experiential place. You might go to a library where you learn something that you might get into your head. But when you come to Inis Mór, you experience something… you can then go off and have a look at your experience and put words on it and give a narrative and so on – which, of course is what I did and what I continue to do – but the island itself has an energy about it which is very light in the sense of “bright”… and it has a depth to it that you can sense especially in the spiritual places.
ON HOLY WELLS
Our pagan traditions influenced hugely the development of Christianity in Ireland. It’s like a seamless robe that has some threads from the pagan tradition and some threads from the Christian tradition. Doing the “rounds” began in the pagan tradition. So if you take a holy well today, they’re all named in Ireland after a saint… but before Christianity these wells were also sacred places. And for the druids who were the spiritual leaders for these Celtic peoples, the wells were sacred because they marked an entrance into the womb of the earth itself. And the earth was a mother, and she was a goddess.
WHAT SURPRISES PEOPLE WHEN THEY COME TO INIS MÓR?
When you come to any of the three Aran Islands, they’re quite flat, there are no tree and there isn’t anything to block your view. And what you see are stone walls – everywhere. And I think it’s kind of surprising and shocking to people to see just how many stone walls are, how intricately they’re built, how many different styles there are to building a stone wall, how small the fields are, and just how far they can see in every direction. So when you come to Aran, you get a long distance view of life… Aran is expansive.
Getting Married on the Aran Island
Thin places and how we can use them.
The Cloud of Unknowing
A Pocket Guide to Aran - Legends in the Landscape by Dara Molloy
The Globalisation of God: A Celtic Christianity’s Nemesis
Dara Molloy website
Aisling Publications
Facebook Celtic Spirituality with Dara Molloy
Facebook – Tour Pilgrim Guide
Facebook – Celtic Wedding Celebrant
SEGMENT 3 – Mindie – 2 Books
The Aran Islands by John Millington Synge, c. 1907
Commentary written about the years he spend in the Aran Islands, the people, traditions, culture and landscape. Written as beautifully as any great travel writer could do.
A Pocket Guide to Arain – Legends in the Landscape by Dara Molloy.
Perfect little guidebook written by a local guide who blends history, mythology and spiritualty all through the descriptions.
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Welcome to episode 6 of the Thin Places Travel Podcast. Today we have Irish American musician, Joanie Madden from the band, Cherish the Ladies as a guest. And we'll be featuring the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, County Galway as a thin places travel destination.
Joanie Madden, Irish American Musician
In our last episode, we talked about a connection to the landscape fueling a person’s creativity and passion artistic outlets. We discussed the concept that where you are can have an effect on artistic productivity. It seems that Ireland is full of artists – performing artists, literary artists, visual artists, musicians. Perhaps there is something in the land that stirs the creative soul.
This week as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we were fortunate to be able to chat with Joanie Madden, one of the founders of the all-woman Irish music band, Cherish the Ladies. The group has been actively performing for 33 years, has been nominated for a Grammy and has recorded and released seventeen albums. Their newest album Heart of the Home has just been released this month and it features several tunes written by Joanie Madden.
Joanie is a child of Irish emigrants. She was raised in the Bronx, NY. Her father was from Portumna in the eastern part of County Galway, and her mother was from Miltown Malbay in West County Clare.
Joanie is an All-Ireland flute and whistle champion. She has sold over a half million solo albums and performed on over 200 recordings including 3 Grammy-winning albums. In 2016, Irish America Magazine named Joanie as one of the Top 50 most Powerful Irish Women in the World.
Segment 2 - Interview with Joanie Madden
LINKS
Cherish the Ladies
Cherish the Ladies on Facebook
Cherish the Ladies on Twitter
Joanie Madden on Twitter
Cherish the Ladies on YoutubeSegment 3 - The Irish Workhouse Centre - Portumna, County Clare
To tie in with Joanie’s reflections on her father’s hometown of Portumna, and her moving musical tribute to the Portumna workhouse, we’re highlighting the Irish Workhouse Center in Portumna as our featured destination for this podcast.
Portumna is a town in east County Galway that was established by the Normans in the twelfth century. The town sits on the River Shannon - the longest river in Ireland - and in its day, it was an important river crossing.
A ferry crossing was established in the early fourteenth century and today a dual lane roadway - the N65, crosses the Shannon in Portumna connecting County Galway with County Tipperary.
The name Port Omna means landing place or “port” of the oak. People have been living in Portumna since the late stone age.
Portumna has a castle, part of which is open to visitors - and a forest part with walking and cycling paths pathways through woodlands and along the shores of Lough Derg. In that forest are the ruins of Portumna Abbey, which was founded in 1426 by Murchad O’Madden.
But today Portumna is well known for its restored Irish Workhouse interpreting a very painful part of Irish history - but perhaps a necessary part to remember and understand.
A private group has developed this workhouse site into the Irish Workhouse Centre to find new uses for the old buildings and to bring significant social, cultural and economic benefits to the area. It is now the arts, heritage and cultural centre for the region. Last year the Centre won the national Heritage Council award for its heritage activities.
We are fortunate to have with us today Steve Dolan, a historian based in East Galway and the Manager of the Irish Workhouse Centre. Steve holds an MBA from the National University in Galway and an MA in History from the University of Limerick. He is the editor of the South East Galway Archaeological and Historical Society Journal. This year his book - All Out: The Birth, Growth, and Decline of Cricket in County Galway, 1825-1925 is being published.
Segment 4 - Interview with Steve Dolan of the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna
LINKS
Irish Workhouse Centre
South East Galway Archaeological and Historical Society (SEGAHS)
Portumna Castle and Demesne
Portumna Abbey located in the Forest Park
Portumna Forest Park
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces.
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing.
Please join us for our next episode, our guest will be Dara Molloy, a Celtic Priest from Inis Mor on the Aran Islands. We'll be talking about Places of Resurrection. So long, for now.
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Segment 1- Mindie
Dingle has all of the elements people want to experience on an Ireland tour – pristine beaches, rolling hills with 40 shades of green, wild landscapes with cliffs and crashing waves, ancient historic monuments, vibrant towns, Irish culture – music, dance the pub culture, off-shore island visits, wonderful interpretive centers, fabulous food, a significant arts culture, mountains, valleys, sacred sites. Dingle has them all. It’s a worthwhile place to spend several days.
Segment 2 – Guest Interview
We are lucky today to have with us today, Kevin O’Shea from Celtic Nature Walking Tours. …
Celtic Nature Walking Tours
SEGMENT 3 – Dingle’s spiritual vibe
Dingle has an energy that naturally connects with human spirituality. Being in Dingle lends itself to mediation, to reflection and raising one’s spiritual vibration. Dingle is a thin place.
People have written entire books about Dingle and many of them feature the draw inward, personal transformation.
Chet Raymo, who was a professor of Physics and Astronomy at Stonehill College in Massachusettes is also a brilliant writer and poet. He had a summer home in Dingle and wrote the book Climbing Brandon about Mount Brandon. He also wrote Honey for Stone, A Naturalist’s Search for God about his experiences in Dingle.
Chet admits that he’s an agnostic and states that his academic training, has led to his rejection of the religious principles he was taught as a child. He’s basically agnostic. But he writes the Dingle landscape tends to stir his own spirituality.
Honey from Stone: A Naturalist’s Search for God
Mindie’s Experience – Man in the Sand
Mark Patrick Hederman, OSB quote:
“On the summit of Mount Sinai, on the road to Santiago, God does not stand any closer or speak any louder. But we listen better.”
Carol Cronin of Dingle Interview on Thin Places
10 Things You Must Do in Dingle
SEGMENT 4 – 10 Things to do in dingle
Ten Things You Must Do in Dingle
Map of 10 things to do in Dingle
Folk Concert at St. James Church
O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub
Carol Cronin Gallery
Courtney’s Bakery
Celtic Nature Walking Tours
An Gailearai Beag – West Kerry Craft Guild
Harry Clarke Windows
SEGMENT 5 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces.
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing, In our next episode, our guest will be [Joanie Madden] So long, for now.
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Segment 1- Mindie – BURIAL GROUNDS – DEATH AND THE ANCIENTS
Death is the ultimate connection to the landscape.
Experiencing of Death and birth. Both are beginnings and ends of life cycles
It seems the ancient people of Western Europe may have articulated this concept in their passage tombs. Sometimes they resemble a womb … with the earth as the mother.
Thin places are places where we mark beginning and ends. These are sacred times. Fitting to be remembered and memorialized in sacred spaces.
In this next segment, Archaeologist Michael Moylan takes us to a burial ground in Connemara long forgotten. He uncovers a few graves and talks a little about the burial process in that region.
SEGMENT 2 - GUEST INTERVIEW
Michael Moylan is an archaeologist and tour operator from County Galway who invited me today to visit him on a small exploration of some graves that seem to be washing away at a place called Storm Beach. It is located just behind the Connemara Regional Airport I County Galway. Michael has unearthed some graves and discussed their age and some other specifics as well as some wonderful destinations to visit in Ireland.
Michael Gibbons Archaeology Travel
Omey Island
Kylemore Abbey
Connemara Aiport (view of Storm Beach from the air -
Welcome to Connemara
NOTE: Michael Moylan did alert the people of the community around Storm Beach to come consider taking care of these gravesites that were washing away, distributing bones along the beaches.
SEGMENT 3 - SITE REVIEW Omey IsLand
Omey Island – off the western edge of Connemara in County Galway. Accessible at low tide only. You can walk or drive across the strand onto the island. Tides are high so be aware that at certain times of the year, the tide can come in quickly and be high enough to cover a vehicle.
SIGHT AND PERCEPTIONS – the island is very old.
According to the Irish Central Statistics Office, there is no one left living full time on the island anymore.
The weather is dramatic – especially the wind
There were people living on Omey Island thousands of years ago. It was also believed to be the last holdout of paganism in Ireland.
St. Feichin was seventh century saint who founded a monastic settlement on Omey Island. He later went on to found several other settlements including Fore Abbey in co. Meath which is what he’s most famous for. But he started here on Omey. Nothing is left of his original settlement on Omey, but it continued to foster a Christian community well into the Medieval times, and there are ruins from that community.
There’s a large bowl-shaped out impression on a hillside in Omey Island, and in the center of it are the ruins of a Medieval church. This is likely where St. Feichin had his monastery and the ruins are of a later church. The church ruins and remnants of the community were buried in the sand – the wind is very strong. The hole or depression that you now see the church ruin sitting in shows how it was excavated in 1981 after being buried in the sand. Surrounding the area is a semi sunken village – foundations from stone huts, occupied by islanders were also discovered. The village was wiped out during the Famine. The wind literally blew the sand over the little village and the church.
I took a tour of Omey Island with the archaeologist, Michael Mullen who works with Michael Moylan. I asked him about the famine and how it hit Omey. I asked if there was a massive evacuation and he said that often times, families just closed the doors to their cottages and laid down and died.
Omey is one of the wild places where nature is reclaiming the landscape. We went in May and noticed all the wildflowers. The old graveyard was nearly covered in Primrose.
Omey Island has a mystical quality about it in all its harshness and wild beauty. It’s worth a visit. Check the tides before venturing. Even walking along the hard sand causeway at low tide is worth the visit.
Omey Island Tides
Michael Gibbons Archaeology Travel
Omey Island
Omey Island Walk
Exploring the Aughrus Peninsula
SEGMENT 4 – MINDIE RECCOMENDS
Hidden Messages in Water by Dr. Masaru Emoto – written in 2001. Through high speed photography demonstrated how frozen water crystals changed when exposed to concentrated thought. The thoughts were sometimes spoken – even written – communicated in many languages. But as the thoughts changed, the crystal shapes and vibrancy changed. The book expands to discuss water and our connection to it and our intimate connection with all life and some amazing experiments that show that we can communicate with nature in a way to heal the land and heal ourselves.
SEGMENT 5 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces.
If you’d like more information on our tours, you can visit our website at thinplacestour.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing. In our next episode, our guest will be Kevin O’Shea who will talk to us about Dingle.
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SEGMENT 1- Mindie on Rathcroghan
Rathcroghan is a complex of 240 archaeological sites that includes 60 national monuments that are spread out in tract of land that is about 4 square miles. The sites range from Neolithic (5-7000 BC) to Medieval periods 5th – 15th centuries). On the site there are burial mounds, ring forts, enclosures, linear earthworks (roads / trails) and very special cave. Rathcroghan is located near the village of Tulsk in County Roscommon. It’s known to be a royal site – the ancient capital of the province of Connaught. We talked a little bit about royal sites in the last podcast. These would have been sites of ritual and gathering. … sites of massive deposits of human emotion and energy. That human energy connected to the natural elemental energy of the land becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. I believe that human emotion and the energy it creates can impact energy of a place. Perhaps there was an inherent energy in the land that drew people –knowingly or unknowingly to mark out a sacred site. And as the human rituals and gatherings imprinted their own energy on the existing high energy of a place – a thin place is born. Rathcroghan is a thin place. While it may not be as well-known as the other royal sites in Ireland – Tara, Emain Macha, Cashel, Uisneagh – it’s a remarkable thin places where the energies are often palpable. Rathcroghan Royal Site from Voices of the Dawn website
SEGMENT 2 – Guest Interview
We are lucky today to have Mike Croghan who lives there, talk with us today about this special site Mike and his rather are the last Croghans to live on Rathcroghan. They are a farming family. Mike also leads tours to sacred and archaeological sites in Western Ireland. He’s also a professional photographer and does a lot of aerial filming.
Rathcroghan Tours – tours by Mike Croghan Please note that the other two websites mentioned (raven.photo and airview.ie are no longer available)
SEGMENT 3 – Mindie Recommends
I’m going to end this podcast with a recommendation for you. The Leprechaun Museum in Dublin. Open daily, staffed by trained storytellers who are passionate about Irish mythology, tradition and understanding of the otherworld. Open Daily 10 :30 am to 6pm. Guided tours and awesome interpretive displays that focus on the people of the Sidhe and Irish folklore. Also open at night – Friday and Saturday for the Darkland tour – twisted tales from the darker side of Ireland. About 16 EUR to get in. Quality entertainment. Leprechaun Museum – Dublin Leprechauns: Facts About the Irish Trickster Fairy
SEGMENT 4 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces. If you’d like more information on our tours, you can visit our website at thinplacestour.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing.
Thin Places Tours
Thin Places Blog Travel Hag Blog
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SEGMENT 1 – MINDIE BURGOYNE In this podcast, we’re going to talk about the energetic pull of the earth and how people have felt that pull over the ages. If there’s one phrase I hear repeatedly from people who read my posts or come on our tours it’s that they have “felt a pull or a draw” to a particular place. Ireland is frequently mentioned.
Joseph Dispenza in his wonderful little book, The Way of the Traveler states, « All travel is inner travel. » He goes on to say in the introduction…that the « call to travel » is as much a part of the journey as the actual travel itself. Dreaming of the travel... imagining what we’ll see, how we’ll feel, what we may learn, who we may meet … it’s all a part of the entire travel experience and the change --- the inner change that happens to people when they travel.
For some of us, that call to travel or dreaming of travel feels almost like a romance… something out there is pulling us, creating a yearning – a thirst that can’t be quenched until we get to that place. It’s as if the place itself has some power or capability of relationship. Mahatma Ghandi said, “There is an indefinable, mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen power that makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses.”
Some of you have probably heard about ley lines. This term refers to invisible lines of energy that run through the earth in a grid-like form. Water tends to run along these lines and people with high sensitivity to these lines of earth energy had methods of finding water and springs by connecting with the lines through dowsing – using a forked branch or metal rod. Many of the first nation people used only their open palm stretched out in front of them to feel the energy vibration and locate water … or perhaps they used the lines to for other things … like where to locate sacred ritual spots. We know that many ancient civilizations erected temples, ritual sites, gathering places and burial mounds in straight lines. In fact, the remains of old ritual sites are often found in straight line patterns across the earth. Freemasons tracked energy lines when building and designing castles, cathedrals and burial grounds.
They made use of volcanic plugs – which are places where molten rock hardened in the event of an active volcano « plugging up » so to speak the enormous pressure within the volcano. These are considered power points in the earth.
All of this is very interesting but what does it mean to us as travelers or people who feel drawn to particular places? We don’t know. But the discussion raises interesting questions. Like … can we be affected by that power within the place? Does it help us connect with a higher form of ourselves? help us focus... help us on that inner journey? Are they portals to another dimension? Can we access that other dimension? Let’s talk with Annie Conboy and listen to what she has to say.
SEGMENT 2 – INTERVIEW WITH ANNIE CONBOY Annie Conboy is a spiritual counselor, intuitive medium and energy healer who has been practicing for eleven years publicly. Annie is from Hebdon Bridge in West Yorkshire, England. She is a mother and works full time as an intuitive. Links to Annie Conboy: Annie’s Daily Blog http://annieconboy.net Facebook: Facebook.com/annie.conboy Twitter @annieconboy
SEGMENT 3 - SITE REVIEW
TULLYHOGUE – COUNTY TYRONE
Northern Ireland has such a mystical landscape because much of it has been left untouched by development and tourist intrusion. So, go there while you can before this pristine landscape vanishes with the economic prosperity that comes with enterprise.
You’d never know that just off of an old country road south of Cookstown in County Tyrone was an ancient royal site still well intact. It’s surrounded by beautiful farmland and rolling hills, and the turnoff, while well marked is doesn’t indicate near the fanfare that this powerful site should have.
Tullyhogue. The name means “mound of the young men.” In the eleventh century, it was an inaugural site for the Kings of Ulster – the northern province of Ireland. These would have been the O’Neil’s of Tyrone. The O’Hagans were the stewards who cared for the site and managed the royal gatherings and site rituals. Hugh O’Neill, the last of the chieftains to be crowned here in 1593. Twelve years later, he and the last bit of Irish royalty fled Ireland and the plantation of Ulster began.
There was a great stone chair at Tullyhogue – a coronation chair heaved out of a large boulder. The chair was noted on the map done by Richard Bartlett done in 1602. It shows a rude sketch of the coronation on Tullyhogue with the king seated in the stone chair, which sits atop a hill. A half dozen men standing around him with an O’Hagan holding a single shoe over his head. The notation below it says “Tulloghogé, On this hill the Irish Create their O. Neale.”
The single shoe ritual is remembered as a coronation tradition, but the details of its meaning are sketchy.
would be king places shoe or slipper on the coronation site the night before in a gesture meant to “claim the land as his.” At the coronation, the shoe is placed on the royal foot by one of the attending family (in Tullyhogue’s case – that would be an O’Hagan). the shoe may have been thrown over the head of the king as a sign of good luck. The shoe may be connected to the carving of footprints into inaugural stones.When a king of a clan was crowned :
married to the land married to the goddess of the land crowning sites always on hills where the land can be surveyed.Characteristics of these royal sites
on hilltops ring barrows – fort-like structure, also provided the ability to process within the rings and survey the event from an elevation. Linear earthwork avenue – a processional roadway. Sometimes a standing stone, coronations stone or throne.Sites were believed to be places of ritual, - coronations, burials, rituals of connecting to the ancestors of possibly bridging the two worlds – this world and the world beyond.
Tullyhogue is still beautifully intact. While there is no chair – part of the chair is believed to be incorporated into the stone wall of a nearby church.
The surrounding landscape is still gorgeous and easy to survey Avenue is still in place, a straight road going up to the hill The earthworks are still in place. There are huge trees now growing in them. The entrance is still open and one can easily imagine the procession and the events that took place here. The stories still hang behind Now it’s been redeveloped – large car park, meandering walkway, benches and interpretive signage.Tullyhogue is also one of those sites that you want to return to … you want to go back and re-experience what you had there … but every time it’s a little different. Don’t rush when going to this site. Take time to read the signage that tells the stories of the O’Neills, the O’Hagans and what happened on the site. It makes for a rich experience.
Irish Archaeology – Medieval Houses at Tullyhogue fort, Co. Tyrone BBC New – Where Kings of Ulster ‘were crowned’” Sit Dig to Begin
SEGMENT 4 – POEM
Wander-Thirst by Gerald Gould
BEYOND the East the sunrise,
beyond the West the sea,
And East and West the wander-thirst
that will not let me be;
It works in me like madness, dear,
to bid me say good-bye;
For the seas call, and the stars call,
and oh! the call of the sky!
I know not where the white road runs,
nor what the blue hills are;
But a man can have the sun for a friend,
and for his guide a star;
And there's no end of voyaging
when once the voice is heard,
For the rivers call, and the roads call,
and oh! the call of the bird!
Yonder the long horizon lies,
and there by night and day
The old ships draw to home again,
the young ships sail away;
And come I may, but go I must,
and, if men ask you why,
You may put the blame on the stars and the sun
and the white road and the sky.
~Gerald Gould was born in Yorkshire, England in 1885 and died in 1936 in London. He was a journalist and a supporter of women’s suffrage. “Wander-Thirst” is his most quoted work.
The Collected Poems of Gerald Gould
SEGMENT 5 – Mindie recommends
I’m going to end with a book recommendation. The book is The Way of the Traveler – Making Every Trip a Journey of Self Discovery by Joseph Dispenza
This is a little book you can read in a day or read little clips over the course of a week or month. I even have the audiobook and find it great for listening to the car. The book is a collection of reflections on the spiritual aspects of travel, and a call to be changed internally by every travel experience.
Dispanza is a former cloistered monk. He’s also a scholar having taught at American University in DC and the College of Santa Fe in NM. He presents a method of travel that promotes self-discovery and uncovering a life path through travel.
The book has five parts – all stages of travel The Call to Journey - - the Preparation – the Encounter (or actual travel experience) – the Homecoming and Recounting the Tale. The insights communicated in the book aid the individual travel experience in an amazing way. There are concepts to explore, like being fearful of certain travel experiences and how to discover the root of the fear. But there’s also practical advice like what to take with you, bringing back gifts and how to travel so that you will also retain great memories so that can revisit the experience in your imagination.
The book also has scores of quotes and exercises to reinforce the concepts presented in each section. The Way of the Traveler: Making Every Trip a Journey of Self-Discover by Joseph Dispenza
SEGMENT 6 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces. If you’d like more information on our tours, you can visit our website at thinplacestour.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing.
Thin Places Tours
Thin Places Blog Travel Hag Blog
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In this episode, Thin Places Podcast host, Mindie Burgoyne explores several questions concerning how we define “thin” places or mystical places. The basic definition she ascribes is, “thin places are places where the veil between this world and the eternal world is thin.” SEGMENT 1- Questions on thin places:
What are thin places – a place where the veil between this world and the otherworld is thin. Are places made thin by us or are they inherently thin? How do identify a thin place? What caused the ancients to choose certain places that still vibrate today? Why Ireland – why are there so many thin places there? In an effort to further explain the qualities of thin places, Mindie shares the story of The Journey of St. Gobnait and “places of resurrection” Links to posts about St. Gobnait and places of resurrection:
St. Gobnait: Patron of Ballyvourney, County Cork Inis Oírr – Aran Islands Little Sister St. Gobnait’s Holy Well – BallyvourneySEGMENT 2 – GUEST INTERVIEW
Ruth O’Hagan discusses the concept of thin places in Ireland
Ruth is from County Clare. She works in family psychology and teaches in university masters and doctorate programs on the supervision and training of therapists and clinicians. Her background is deeply spiritual, and she comes from a long line of natural healers.
SEGMENT 3 – Mindie recommends
Two books: How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill In the House of Memory by Steve Rabey (out of print) Amazon, AbeBooks or Book Depository
SEGMENT 4 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link. You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces. If you’d like more information on our tours, you can visit our website at thinplacestour.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing,
ADDITIONAL LINKS OF INTEREST
Inis Caeltra – Holy Island in County Clare http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/holy_island1.htm Holy Island Boat Trips https://www.holyisland.ie/ Clarevirtually Website on travel in East Clare http://clarevirtually.ie/ National Geographic Traveler – The Curse of Inis Caeltra http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/destinations/europe/ireland/ireland-the-curse-of-inis-cealtra/
