Lots
of you have noticed that the Ardagh Tree Fairy signs have arrived in
the Neighbourhood Park and on the Brí Leith Walk in the last few weeks.
Well done to those of you who already let us know that some of the signs
on the hill are not at the right tree. This is not a mistake. The Tree
Fairies want us all to slow down and really look at and appreciate the
nature around us. One way we can do this is to look closely at the trees
and plants on the walk. See what insects you can spot, watch the
bramble flowers transform into green, red then blackberries, note what
is in flower when, and maybe take time to sit and draw some of the
views. The Tree Fairies would love to see your art.
These photos show a tiny selection of the ever changing nature on Brí Leith
Did you see the tadpoles? Has anyone noticed any frogs yet?
If you have any photos of the flowers, plants, trees, bees, birds, frogs
or anything else you have spotted on the walk send them to us at
creativeardagh@gmail.com and we will share them here.
If you want to play "Is this my tree?" with the Ardagh Tree Fairies on
your next ramble up Brí Leith download the file below and you can let us
know if any of them are actually beside their tree. The Ardagh Tree
Fairies are tricky little beings, they often move from where they last
were when least expected, so keep an eye out every time to see if they
stay put.
Right-click to save image and print your own copy.
All Day Workshop Event with native Irish Draoí, Lora O'Brien, in County Longford on Saturday 1st June 2019. Take your Irish Paganism Step by Step; covering the main topics you need to get started.
PLACES ARE LIMITED - BOOK NOW! - https://irishpaganschool.com/p/workshop
Based on the most commonly asked questions from her extensive communities and groups (both online and in person), Lora O'Brien - who has been a practicing Irish Pagan for over 20 years, studying and working professionally within her native tradition for most of that time - goes through the basics that you'll need to get started with a genuine, authentic approach to Irish Paganism.
{PLEASE NOTE: This is info and booking for the Live In-Person All Day Workshop Event. For the online version of this course, see here - https://irishpaganschool.com/p/10steps}
In this One Day In-Person Workshop, the steps you'll go through are:
-- Spirituality and Magic
-- Source Material and Resources
-- Ancestors and Culture
-- Local Sites and Protocol
-- Native Plants and Animals
-- Divination and Magic Methods
-- The Irish Sidhe
-- The Irish Gods
-- Daily/Seasonal Offerings and Practice
-- Otherworld Journeys
-- PLUS -- a unique Guided Journey for your Daily Practice.
Whether you are just beginning on this path, or a seasoned traveller from another tradition, you'll find new or remembered knowledge when you get back to basics with our 10 Steps to Irish Paganism.
BONUS: All In-Person Attendees will get FREE access afterwards to the Online Course version of this workshop at www.IrishPaganSchool.com (value, €75).
DATE AND VENUE DETAILS:
Saturday 1st June - 11am to 6pm
Ardagh Heritage and Creativity Centre, Ardagh, County. Longford, Ireland.
Again, this is available for a limited number of Students Only - Please Book Early. [Online Bookings will secure first places.] Price is €80, monthly payment plan available. https://irishpaganschool.com/p/workshop
Join Creative Ardagh in conjunction with Cruthú Arts Festival and
funded by Creative Ireland – Longford, on Sunday 28th July for the
Annual Bilberry Walk.
As usual we will be meeting at 11am at the GAA pitch with suitable
attire for the weather of the day. This year is a year of great
celebration as we will no longer be wading through the mud but using the
newly created walk thanks to Longford Tourism.
Brendan Farrell of Ardagh Village Landscapes, our traditional “leader
of the walk” will start with a tour of his wonderful garden and advise
us on biodiversity, then we will follow him over the hill.
Following that, wander on into Ardagh Heritage and Creativity Centre
where Ann and Annette will entertain you with their Scéalta Beo
storytelling of local legends. Our Viking friends from the Jofur Drengir
re-enactment group will be coming to entertain us and Adel Coleman,
Archaeologist, will give us a lecture to update us on the developments
regarding the dig at The Back of The Hill.
Light Refreshments will be provided in Ardagh Heritage and Creativity Centre.
Here
we are at another 1st
February, St. Brigid’s Day, the festival of Imbolc, the beginning of
Spring. It sprung into my mind that while St. Brigid is famously
connected to Kildare, that we should explore her links with Longford
as she continue to be acknowledged locally by all the churches,
schools and clubs that are named after the Patroness of Ireland and
by the traditions that are alive in the area.
Who is Brigid?
The
St. Brigid everyone knows about is the St. Brigid we learned about at
school, a slave by birth, born circa 453, in Faughart. Her mother
was a Christian woman, Brocessa, slave to a chieftain Dubthach. She
was kind and generous and has many miracles to her name, the most
famous being that of the original St. Brigid’s Cross and the one
about her cloak covering enough area to claim as a convent in
Kildare.
Long
before Christianity there was another Brigit. In Irish Mythology,
Brigit was the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha De Danann,
wife of Bres of the Fomorians. She is often seen as a threefold
goddess over healing, poetry and smithcraft. (Lebor Gabála Érenn).
Many of the stories of the mythological Brigit and the Christian St.
Brigid have similarities, the Brigit’s doll became the St. Brigid’s
Cross, the Brigit’s mantle became St. Brigid’s Cloak and many of the
miracles performed by St. Brigid mirror the powers of the ancient
goddess.
What are St. Brigid’s
connections to Longford?
The
first connection of Brigit to Longford, and not a widely known
connection, is Brigit was daughter of the Dagda and so therefore must
have been half sister to Midir, son of the Dagda, Midir of the local
legend of The wooing of Étáin, Midir of Brí Leith, Ardagh and The
Bog Road in Corlea, Kenagh. There must be many stories to be
uncovered about this half sister and half brother and hopefully by
this time next year we will know more. It is interesting, given our
history of poets and writers in Longford, that Brigit is the goddess
of the poet.
St.
Brigid has strong connections to the county too. By many accounts
she came to Ardagh and received the veil at the hands of St. Mel. In
some writings she is said to have been professed as a nun, in others
she was professed as a nun and also received abbatial powers and in
others, my favourite, she was ‘accidentally’ ordained a Bishop by St.
Mel.
While
it is widely accepted that St. Brigid established her first convent
in Kildare there are a number of writings that say otherwise and that
her first convent was in Ardagh, Clonbroney or Ballinalee.
The Dúchas school
collection have many stories about St. Brigid in Longford. One story
in the Dúchas collection talks of her first convent being on the
north side of Sliabh Galry, another name for Ardagh Hill and another
says that
St. Brigid carried coals two miles and her Holy Well in Ardagh sprung
up where she dropped them. Another states carrying the hot coals was
a penance given to a local woman for disrespecting St. Brigid.
However tentative or
true the connections to Longford are we do know that there is a St.
Brigid’s Well in Ardagh that is visited every 1st
February by the locals, that there are many schools, churches and
clubs called after St. Brigid throughout the county and that the
tradition of making the St. Brigid’s Day Cross continues locally.
Ann Gerety Smyth, Creative
Ardagh, Ardagh Heritage and Creativity Centre, Ardagh, Co. Longford.
Contact us to arrange your guided tour or heritage workshop for yourself, a group or your school. #irelandshiddenheartlands, #longfordtourism, #creativeardagh
Click on the links above for more details. Here's a snippet of what we do:
Thanks to Longford Tourism and the Towns and Villages 2017 the walk on Brí Leith, Ardagh Mountain has been upgraded and completed. You can read more about it here.
We operate with limited opening hours in December and January. We are there most days at some point for groups or meetings, but if you want to view
the heritage exhibition or browse in the craft shop when we are not there give us a call on
086 3027602 or 0861717925 and we'll be there in a few minutes. We both
live in the village.
You can also make an appointment in advance, or book any of our group programmes.
Our craft shop stocks a range of cards and handmade gifts from Longford and the surrounding area, so is perfect if you want to shop local this Christmas. You can also buy a few Creative Ardagh items on our online shop here.
Lots
of you have noticed that the Ardagh Tree Fairy signs have arrived in
the Neighbourhood Park and on the Brí Leith Walk in the last few weeks.
Well done to those of you who already let us know that some of the signs
on the hill are not at the right tree. This is not a mistake. The Tree
Fairies want us all to slow down and really look at and appreciate the
nature around us. One way we can do this is to look closely at the trees
and plants on the walk. See what insects you can spot, watch the
bramble flowers transform into green, red then blackberries, note what
is in flower when, and maybe take time to sit and draw some of the
views. The Tree Fairies would love to see your art.
Did you see the tadpoles? Has anyone noticed any frogs yet?
