Devotion

You may not know it but today is St Gobnait's Day, a most beloved saint in county Cork. Her shrine is in Ballyvourney and that's where I went with my pals Robert and Finola. Ballyvourney is a Gaeltacht area and quite remote, up in the mountains, a very different feel. The day started with mass in the church. I didn't stay for this but I did go inside to see the staute of St Gobnait which is on display only on this day. The statue is about a foot and  a half long, made of oak and very ancient, now extremely worn. A strange ritual happens. St Gobnait was reknowned for her healing and lengths of ribbons, exactly the length of the statue,  can be purchased. The ribbons, known as Gobnait's Measures,  are then placed on the stature, wound around her neck and her feet and then taken home where they will ensure continued good health or recovery from illness.
We then went on to her shrine where it is traditional to do the rounds stopping at various places to say prayers. There was a good crowd, lost in their own devotions.Everywhere bees and deer abounded. Gobnait is taken from the Hebrew Deborah which means bees and Gobnait was said to used bees and honey in her many cures. The deer are from another story. She was originally from Clare and was told by an angel to travel until she found a place where there were nine deer and there she was to stop and build a  nunnery. Ballyvourney was where those deer appeared.
We had heard that that her brother St Abbán also had a holy well and shrine near here. We inquired at the post office and were told to head off across the fields and look out for the single oak tree, then to find the small path into the forest. This was a magical spot - the route lined with red rags hanging from branches, The well was tiny, a a few cups in a plastic basket. Above, a mossy cairn held treasures and relics, surrounded by three standing stones.
We emerged as if from a different time.  A few more. And a backblip

Such very sad news.