Author: Faughart

A clear indication of the approach of Saint Brigid’s Day or Imbolc, is that nature’s time of rest is coming to a close and the landscape is re-awakening. This was noted most beautifully by the local poet Marie Kerley in her poem : What is Spring When crocuses push Coloured heads Through quickening soil. When trees rustle Skeletal branches – When buds burst bark. When Birds weave baskets And trill. When air is flushed green And Brigid’s spirit reigns. Saint Brigid’s Shrine at Faughart. At Saint Brigid’s Shrine we see the cheerful stream weave through the re-awakened mystical landscape just as the reeds weave together to make the traditional St Brigid’s Cross. The stream emerges out of Mother…

Faughart, near Dundalk Co Louth, is an ancient place filled with a history that is both gentle and fierce. It is a place associated with battles, boundaries and travel. The Sli Midhluachra, one of the 5 ancient roads of Ireland, runs through the Hill of Faughart on its way  from Tara to Armagh and to the north coast of Ireland, making it a strategically important place. However, Faughart is also a place of deep peace, tranquillity, beauty and healing, being associated from ancient times with Brigid,  pre-Christian Goddess and Christian Saint . Brigid occupies a central role within the Celtic Spiritual tradition, holding the energy of the Divine Feminine, a central pillar of that tradition. The mystical woman…

The Giving So I was given the gift of land the size of my cloak. I wanted to damn the meanness of the man. Snakes writhed and scorpions glistened in the dark caves of me. But I spread my cloak, on their reptilian heads. I spread a shimmering green upon them and the touch of the cloth calmed them and they became lost in the plush of my green. When I opened my eyes my cloak was on the ground spreading and catching sunlight. Spreading, and the Chieftain’s horse reared in fright. It spread from my feet. It spread from my feet. Share

St. Brigid’s Cloak seems out there spread Blue as the summer sky The Cooley Hills defend the North And eastwards dreams the sea Roll Leinster plains far southward forth And all these lands loved she At Faughart you may kneel in prayer On the ground St.Brigid trod You will feel her gracious presence there You will feel you are close to God O Mother of the Gaol remember me As I kneel on the Faughart sod My ship is tossed on the stormy sea Guide me home to God Share