On the Trail of Knocknarea
Over the last few weeks Søren Hauge from Denmark , my wife Freya Secrest, and I have had the good fortune to lead two groups of twenty plus friends to visit some of the wonderful "Sidhe" (or Faerie) sites in Ireland.
We started at Newgrange near Dublin. This is a megalithic otherworld passageway or a "Howe" which is a massive stone-constructed cave where ancient ceremonies took place some 5000 years ago. It is my perception that some of these sites (of which there are many) still offer gateways to connection with our Sidhe cousins. From there we journeyed to the Hill of Tara where stands the "Stone of Destiny" reputed to represent one of the four sacred Hallows (or magical talismans) of the Sidhe. It is where some 1000 years ago kings of Ireland swore allegiance to the land. Legend has it the stone cried out the name of a true king for all to hear.
We then traveled by bus to Sligo on the west coast of the country. This area and north to Donegal is William Butler Yeats' and George William Russell's (AE) country where they were inspired to Nobel prize poetry and painting by their Sidhe encounters.
Many of our group had experiences with the Sidhe and I began this essay thinking I would try to describe some of my own experiences along with the landscapes in which they occurred. However, this morning one of my Sidhe counterparts suggested something simple. I think he wanted to remind me and others that not all interactions between are two races need be dramatic. And, I think he was part of the following story.
On our second day on the tour we visited Knocknarea. This is a thousand feet high hill west of Sligo. At the summit is a large stone cairn. It is believed to conceal a megalithic passageway and perhaps later became the burial chamber of Queen Maebh of Connacht. This is a dramatic site and having never previously been there all of my attention was on the summit as I climbed.
A silent voice interrupted my thoughts; "Jeremy .... Jeremy .... look to your right". I stopped and looked. Nothing seemed unusual (if that can be said about this dramatic landscape). The scene was unfamiliar and I knew little about the area but my attention was drawn to a specific cliff profile. As I stood looking for some clue for the suggestion my friend Søren came up from behind and said, "That is the famous Fairy Fort, the mountain of Ben Bulben." I was later to learn of some of the lore of the place from an Irish Priest at a church (originally Columba's monastery) overlooking Ben Bulben from another vantage point. Yeats chose to be buried there so he could see the mountain. I'll leave it to the reader to discover more.
So that is my story. No vibrant visions or esoteric knowledge. Just a simple nudge to look in a new direction.
Søren Hauge and Jeremy Berg led two one week interpretive tours to Celtic sites know for their connection with the Sidhe this September. See Tours of Ireland. - ed.