Christ is Risen!
For the first time in my life, I’m driving on the left side of the road, and so far so good. Together with another pilgrim from Romania, I’ve been hiking across limestone to hermit’s caves, trudging past cows in verdant fields to holy wells, and climbing over small stone walls into ruined monastic enclosures.
Yesterday our host in Cashel gave us directions to a local well of St. Patrick. We parked on the shoulder of a narrow country road and after greeting two local men standing near the sign “Tobar Padraig - St. Patrick’s Well,” we descended a wide staircase into an enclosure marked by the sound of flowing water and evening bird song. While we explored and rested there, two other families came and went—one couple filled six large bottles at the spring.
As we were drinking from the spring, one of the local men, David, greeted us and shared information about the well. He told us that the water comes from aquifers deep in the earth. Long before Ireland had cities, people gathered at sources of water like this one; they believe people have been coming to this well for over 10,000 years. In 447, it was a natural choice for Patrick to catechize and baptize the king of Cashel and local people here. The stone cross was erected at that time and is thought to be the oldest cross in Ireland.
David comes each day to the well to pray and talk to pilgrims—and has done for thirty years. Before we left, David asked if he could pray for us, and he prayed the rosary quietly, standing between us at the edge of the pool. He asked for the intercession of each of the celtic saints. He finished by asking God’s blessing on our travels. It was a blessing see the local veneration of St. Patrick and meet a deeply faithful person at the well.
A lighthouse in the center of Ireland
I came to Ireland to learn about the celtic saints and began my journey at the first Orthodox monastery in Ireland (as far as I know), dedicated to the Theotokos the Lifegiving Spring and St. Ciaran. It is 8 km from the strategic site St. Ciaran chose for his 6th century monastery Clonmacnoise, in the very center of Ireland. Clonmacnoise became a dynamic center of learning and missionary activity that taught and influenced monastery founders across the European Continent for centuries.
Lifegiving Spring is a Romanian women’s monastery established in 2019. They offer accommodation for guests. Services are conducted in Romanian and English, or French, etc.; the sister try to adapt the language to the attendees. The monastery is an absolute miracle and wellspring of grace for the faithful.
Celtic Saints
Today is the feast of St. Brendan the Navigator! Listen here to The Prayer of St. Brendan, a song, and watch an animated biographical video created and narrated by children about St. Brendan’s life.
Read the life of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise is one of the monastery’s patrons.
Early Christian Sites in Ireland database - this site, compiled and maintained by an Orthodox priest serving in the UK, is an indispensable aid for pilgrimage in Ireland.
Irish Travel Logs
Paul Kingsnorth wrote about visiting Skellig Michael in his newsletter. Landing wasn’t possible when we went, so we enjoyed the boat tour around Skellig Michael and Little Skellig.
Rick Steves is my hero for packing light and connecting with local guides. Here’s his episode on the area I explored last week:
Last month
I celebrated my birthday during Bright Week with prayer, painting, planting, pints, playing cards, pasta, Powell’s Books, and a piñata. My creative friends made this awesome video:
Looking forward to…
visiting Glendalough, the monastic site of St. Kevin.
Cheers!
Thomaida