Doing things backwards in County Clare

July 25, 2013

St Brigid’s Well, the Cliffs of Moher and the quiet spiritual geography of County Clare — where Ireland’s second saint still draws pilgrims off the tourist trail. (3 min read)

The Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, are the most visited natural attraction in Ireland. The extraordinary landforms, and the birdlife and sea creatures, are the major draw card for most tourists. This place is truly awesome and we loved it, even with the rain.

But the main reason for our visit to this part of Ireland was a simple little well about a kilometre from the main action. Wells are very important in Ireland, providing access to pure energy streams of healing.

St Brigid’s Well is a simple little shrine to Ireland’s second saint (after St Patrick). The site is quite non-descript, on the corner of a busy road and adjoining a cemetery. There is a statue of St Brigid in a glass box surrounded by a garden, and the well itself which is located in a cave type environment that is covered with prayers and offerings from pilgrims. The “well” is rectangular with small steps but not particularly accessible. While I was greatly touched by the devotion to St Brigid, the site itself did not seem particularly energised to me. However, that might change because I left a Casa crystal here.

There is a lot of stuff about St Brigid’s life online, but much of it is speculative. There are the predictable theses about the concurrent appeal to Pagans and Christians (didn’t we hear this story with Guadalupe too!). This is a link to the info about Brigid on wiki if you want a starting point to research more about her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid_of_Kildare

If you are going to the Cliffs of Moher, take half an hour to visit Brigid’s Well too.