As I plan another voyage to Ireland, I look back on last year’s voyage. I had not really seen it while I was on the journey, but the trip was really an exploration of the Cailleach in the landscape of southwestern Ireland. Her story is woven into the land in County Kerry, County Clare, and County Cork. The Cailleach bears many names, Biera, Bheara, Sheela-na-gig, Bheur, the list goes on. She is a wise woman, bestower of sovereignty, and shaper of the land.
I first encountered her overlooking the sea on the Beara Peninsula near the Church of Kilcatherine in County Cork. Here she is overlooking the sea, having lived many lifetimes, she sits in peace and stares out to the sea. She seemed to me to resonate the power of survival. Old beyond reckoning, she maintains her feminine vigor and outlasts.
The Cailleach sits in peace by the Irish Sea
The Burren in County Clare also resonates with her presence. Here at the Cliffs of Moher is a stone called the Hag’s Head. It was at this very spot where the Cailleach had fallen in love with the hero Cu Chulainn. He did not share her affection and he fled from her. She had him cornered near the coast when he leapt a mighty leap at the cliffs landing safely and continuing his flight. The Cailleach tried to follow and lost her footing falling to the sea below, dashed on the rocks. Throughout her cronehood, she never loses her vitality!
The view of Hag's Head at the Cliffs of Moher.
From the soaring heights of the Cliffs of Moher we explored the Burren, a seemingly desolate limestone landscape. From a distance the land here seemed grey and dead. I was less than thrilled to be there after all the dense forests and sweeping seascapes I had seen in my travels. It wasn’t until I saw the Burren close up that I realized that it was bursting with new life. It gave the appearance of death and desolation , and indeed the limestone that comprises the landscape is the petrified remains of billions of tiny lives. But what renewal! Hiding in every jigsaw like gap countless tiny, delicate flowers . Petra fertilis, the fertile rock. And how very like the Cailleach, hiding the beautiful seeds of youth in the wrinkles of her advanced age.
The seemingly harsh rock cradles the delicate new life of this flower....
