Whitethorn ~ on the threshold of the Otherworld.

The month of May sees a procession of whitethorn stretching their long white fingers across the green land. 

They stand in the liminal places, between land and water,

beside sacred wells.

They guard ancient sites,

Oweynagat, “Cave of the Cats”, Co. Roscommon, home of the Morrigan.

Grange Stone Circle, Co. Limerick.

And gathering points where the Good People meet.

Distant whitethorn on the local Fairy Path where the Daoine Sídhe are said to gather. 

They trail across forgotten pathways

The path to Sheean. Link to read more: SHEEAN

and carry healing spells.

The Rag Tree at Killeigh, Co. Offaly. Link to read more: RAG TREE 

Standing between this world and the Otherworld the whitethorn, An Sceach Gheal, ‘bright, shining thorn’, is steeped in folklore and regarded with respect for fear of supernatural retribution. 

Felling a lone thorn brings bad luck and today many farmers continue to work around them.

Injury or even death could also befall anyone who damaged or cut down a lone bush. 

The close relationship between tree and Good People was acknowledged across the island. 

Some thorns were believed to have almost human attributes. 

In Co. Cork it was understood that a stick of whitethorn would have a temper of its’ own if used in anger and elsewhere blood was believed to flow from a lone bush if felled.

The kinship between thorn and Daoine Sídhe was occasionally utilised by people.

In Co. Laois it was once customary to sprinkle sprigs of whitethorn with holy water before planting them in fields in the belief that banishing the connection to the Otherworld would discourage the Good People from taking the crops.

Within old church yards thorns are left in place although they are often pruned 

to reflect Christian symbolism.

This bond was understood to be of service to cattle too.

Farmers would hang the afterbirth of a premature calf on a whitethorn believing that the bush would help it to survive and in some areas a sprig from a fairy thorn was hung in the milk parlour to encourage cows to produce creamier milk. 

The May Bush decorated skeletal remains of whitethorn and ivy.
Link to read more: MAY BUSH 

On May Eve when the bush was decorated there were differing views on the use of whitethorn for this purpose. 

In some areas it was acceptable and in others, using a branch of thorn was considered unlucky.

Throughout the country however, it was believed that bringing blossom into the house would shortly be followed by illness and death.

Whitethorn blossom exudes a scent that many find unpleasant and it has been found that the chemical trimethylamine, which is formed when animal tissues decay, is also present in the blossom. 

Unbaptised infants who had died and were denied internment in consecrated ground, were buried in the ‘sacred space’ beneath lone thorns, especially if they stood within fairy forts.

Lone thorn on Rath Coffey used as an infants' grave.
Link to read more: Cillín

Others mark age-old stopping places from hearth to grave.

Whitethorn standing between farm yard and road. 

It was customary for bearers to rest the coffin at the foot of this bush and local lore states 

that the thorn must not be removed. 

By the end of Lughnasadh the Whitethorn has become the Hawthorn,

limbs laden with red haws. 

And as the year progresses the tree reveals her true nature.

Thorn on the Burren - image © eyeem.

Living an average of 400 years, with some reaching 700, they become twisted and gnarled, claws sharp and fingers bent with age.

Thorns on the Burren coast.

A procession of bent forms reminiscent of hags, ridden by the wind.

'Wind-blown Trees' by Paul Henry.

At Samhain, standing starkly on the threshold of the Otherworld, they guard supernatural paths awaiting transformation.

Bealtaine seduction

I have been led astray by sunlight and deep green shadow.

Beguiled by trails of bluebell, 

blackbird and cuckoo call.

Beside the footstick bridge 

the whispering river carries the coconut perfume of gorse

to lure me away from desk and easel.

Finally seduced by the scent of the dangerous whitethorn 

I surrender. 

I leave early tomorrow for the west. 

Who knows when I will return?

This song captures the coming of summer to Ireland for me.

Close your eyes and walk down the dusty road……..

'The Curra Road' by Ger Wolfe.

The May bush ribbons dance as the Fairy Host pass by.

My May bush this year, a fallen branch.

Yesterday was Oíche Bealtaine, May Eve, and last night the fairy forts opened and the Good People

travelled across the land. 

At Bealtaine and Samhain They are at their most powerful and in the past people would put up a May Bush near the front door to protect their homes from the travelling Daoine Sídhe.

Recent May bushes in the Slieve Bloom mountains.

The bush itself consisted of a green branch of hawthorn or other tree stuck into the ground or tied to a pole and set in front of the homeplace. 

As well as providing protection against Otherworldly attention, the bush was also believed to also ensure an abundant milk supply all summer long. 

In some rural areas it was placed in the middle of a field and when night fell, set alight, 

in other places branches from the bush were thrown amongst the crops to guarantee a good harvest. 

Here in Co. Laois slips of whitethorn were blessed with holy water and stuck into the earth in

fields to prevent the Good People from harming the new crops.

The May Bush tradition was particularly strong in Co. Wexford where it was stuck on top of the 

dung heap used to fertilise produce.

Hawthorn branch with traditional decorations.

The May Bush was decorated by adults and children with traditional trimmings consisting of ribbons, coloured egg shells, bunches of yellow flowers and strips of coloured paper.

Photo courtesy of Michael Fortune.

The practice of decorating the bush is considered by some to be a survival of an ancient Bealtaine tradition welcoming the summer whilst others believed differently:

Peggy Doyle, Co. Wexford. Taken from James Lawlor, Irish National Folklore Collection.

May bushes were also customary in towns and cities. 

In Dublin it was recorded that rival gangs from north and south of the River Liffey would vie 

to exhibit “the best dressed and handsomest May bush”.

May Bush, Co. Westmeath 1964, National Folklore Commission.

In town and country alike there was often a community May bush, placed on common land or 

at the crossroads and as darkness fell stumps of candles or small rush lights were lit around the May bush as people danced to traditional music. 

These bushes were frequently guarded overnight by locals in order to protect them from being stolen by outsiders whom, it was believed, would steal the year’s luck from its rightful owners.

In some areas the bush was left in position until the end of May, 

in others until the decorations had crumbled and the bush itself was burned.

The importance of the May bush and its’ accompanying celebrations declined over time, especially in towns when, in the 18th century, authorities enacted a number of British laws forbidding their erection on public roads or near houses.

Those who continued the tradition were heavily fined.

May bushes in the Irish Midlands.

Recent years have seen the May bush return to Irish homes and communities as the tradition

is revived and the start of summer is celebrated once more.

Poster courtesy of Michael Fortune & Aileen Lambert. 

Bealtaine ‘May Bush’ Festival at Kinnitty Castle, Co. Offaly, 2014.

http://slievebloomassociation.com

Yesterday I put up my own May bush and as the sun set it stood guarding my home.

Later as I slept I’m sure its’ ribbons danced in the darkness as the Fairy Host passed by.

This short film was made by the pupils from St. Ibars NS, Castlebridge, Co. Wexford during 

a two-day visit to the school by Heritage Council Expert, Michael Fortune. 

You can read about another May Eve tradition ‘Welcoming the Summer with flowers’ here:

http://theeverlivingones.blogspot.ie/2015/05/welcoming-summer-with-flowers.html

Otherworld shenanigans: The Fairy Wife.

It was around this time of year when Jim and I were chatting that I asked if he'd ever seen the
Good People himself.
" No, but my mother told me about the Fairy Wife " he replied.

Back then in the summer months many families spent their days outdoors on the land, taking their
meals in the open air and only going inside to sleep.

Jim's mother would have a fire in the yard where she cooked and when she was alone there one evening she heard a commotion.

Harvesting by hand.

Looking across into the field, she saw the neighbours had stopped working and were shouting.
A women, her hair loose, was running across the field making for Lough Duff below.

The lough was still there in those days, deep and dark, with the island in the centre.

The 1829 Ordanance Survey Map of the area showing Lough Dubh, the island and the fairy thorn.

"Everyone knew the fairies lived there and no one would set foot on it." Jim explained.

Jim's mother hurried over and recognised the woman as the wife of a local man.
It was clear that she was going to throw herself into the lake so the men left their work and went
to save her.

Lough Doire Bhile, Glengoole. The island on Lough Duff  may have looked like this.

As she reached the water's edge the woman stopped and a strange thing happened.
Voices rose from the lough saying:

" Welcome home milé mór, so long as you 

didn't tell the verge about the egg water. " *

It was the Good People greeting her.
A moment later she had disappeared into the depths never to be seen again.

...

I asked Jim what the fairies'  words meant, he didn't know, so we puzzled over them for a while.
Maybe they were originally as Gaeilge or had been misremembered in the telling?
Or perhaps they were words that are no longer used?

Jim shook his head, we drank some more tea and sat in silence.
" All those years and that man never knew he was married to a fairy " Jim finally said.

The Lough Field today where Lough Duff once lay. 

As the year turns towards Samhain and the Good People will leave their home in the Lough Field,
I look out and imagine that the Fairy Wife travels with them, reunited with her kin.



* I'm still baffled by the phrase spoken by the Good People and have searched for possible meanings:
- Míle Mór refers to a 'thousand, great' welcomes.
- The 'verge' could be a verger, a church official who acted as a caretaker.
-  'Egg water' may allude to isinglass, a type of gelatine made from fish, used to preserve eggs
before we had refrigeration.

- Or perhaps it was the practice of drinking the water in which eggs were boiled to provide
Vitamin D3? We will never know.

You can read more of Jim's tales by clicking on the titles below:
 Digging for Gold / Ballygillaheen / The Fairy Path

The 'Otherworld Shenanigans' posts are based upon the tales and reminiscences of my elderly neighbour, Jim, 

who lived his life in the same house he was born in. 

Jim died several years ago and is remembered as a great character by those who knew him.

Rag Trees

Rag trees beguile us.

They speak of our pagan heritage albeit thinly disguised by Christianity. 

The original rag tree at Fore, Co. Westmeath which appears to emerge from the Otherworld.

They can offer a moments' stillness, a glimpse into the lives of others 

and a connection to nature and the Otherworld.

Many of these trees, often whitethorns, stand beside holy wells dedicated to specific saints.

The present tree at the well, Tobernacogany, Fore.

The tree & well were visited by pilgrims on St. Feichin's Day, 2nd January, Imbolc 

& on St. John's & St. Peter's Days, around Midsummer.

Folklore tells of specific coloured cloths hung on trees at certain wells, some favoured white,
others red, whilst a few were offered multi-coloured cloths.

Traditionally a rag was tied to a special tree in times of ill health in the belief that as 

the cloth disintegrated the complaint would disappear. 

Some Rag Trees stand in woodland...

St Brendan's tree at Clonfert, Co. Galway.

Along with rags there are statues, holy medals, coins and symbols of afflictions, 

each telling a story.

Although there are predominately Christian icons as well as the Virgin Mary
this tree also shelters Ganesh and Buddha.

... others remain in fields though their wells are long dry.

This thorn tree stands in a field next to St. Manman's church, Co. Laois. 

The well is disused and the tree no longer visited.

Where once only natural fibre rags were left to decay, nowadays all sorts of items are deposited.
Many trees are cared for and cleared regularly by locals, whilst others sadly are ignored,
their limbs damaged by too many offerings or poisoned by copper coins hammered into the bark.

Along with Rag Trees near to holy wells there are also trees which hold cures within water,
these are the Well Trees.

One such, an old ash, stands in a ditch at the edge of a field near to my home.

The trunk divides into two, forming a cleft in which water gathers. 

It is this water which holds the cure for warts. 

My neighbour, Jim, was taken to the Well Tree by his mother as a young lad to rid him of warts
on his fingers. The ritual to obtain the cure involved visiting the well and dabbing the water on the warts on three separate occasions.
The cure, he assured me, had worked for the warts left him and never returned.