The Fort Field

I sing The Field I sing the farm
I sing the House my mother was born
In Gortatagort Colomane
A green jewel
 
Sewn in a patchwork quilt of fields
Between the mountain and the River
In this time now and in another
Where I ran free with my brothers
Through the Longmeadow The Cnocan Rua
The Fortfield The Pairc na Claise
The Newhouse field The Guillane Field
The Clover Field The Rushy Field
 
Where the red fuchsia weeps in The Hen’s Garden
And the angels bleed over Bantry Bay
 
I see The House I see The Yard
I see The Stall I see The Stable
I see The Haggart and The Sandy Field
I see The Hill I see The Well
I sing The Spring of Well Water
I sing The Field of Standing Stones
The South Rey Grass The North Rey Grass

Today I've  been in Colomane - an adventure with Bat . We looked for St Colman's well, now empty and a little unprepossessing but the area was abounding in other riches - ringforts, standing stones, stone circles, old ruins, mass rocks and everywhere so beautiful:  primroses and marsh marigolds by the side of the river, green fields with little white bullocks and crossroads where dancing used to go on. This is the entrance into a small ringfort, the trees grizzled and gnarled.

I just had to include the lyrics and music of local musician John Spillane, who was brought up near here.That's not his mother's house in the extra but it could be. Instead it's the birthplace of Captain O Neill - one time Chief of Police in Chicago and avid collector of Irish music.  Christy Moore  does the song much justice.

Last night's film, Rams, could have been set in Colomane. Bleakly beautiful and very sad. Set in a pretty rugged part of Iceland, two brothers who hadn't spoken to each other for 40 years, were forced to come together to deal with a tragedy amongst their beloved and prized sheep. Wine was provided after the show and we all needed it!

And thanks to Cailleach  for the Wild Wednesday Challenge. It felt pretty wild up here.