Storytime-Haunted B&B In Ontario!

Ghostly sightings are not usually part of your travel experience, but once in awhile, you are bound to run into something that goes bump in the night...

The Creepy Ruined Rock Of Cashel, Ireland

Many times our travels take us to ancient places that have been the scene of a bloody battle, a burial site or some other kind of historical tragedy.  From castles to churches, megaliths to burial mounds, we can get a spooky feeling in a dungeon or in an early Christian catacomb.  The thing is, as tourists, we often know the history of the place we are visiting, therefore we know that many people may have died precisely where we are standing today.  You almost expect to feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck when visiting a 3,000-year-old burial chamber in Ireland or an Etruscan necropolis in Tuscany or an old ruined castle.


What you don't expect is a romantic getaway to a quaint Inn to turn into a ghostly encounter!  There were no castles, no graveyards, no building with a tragic past...or so I thought.  





It was in 2007, and my family was in Ontario for a surprise Christmastime visit to my mother-in-law in the Kitchener area.  Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, my husband and I decided to leave our 6-year-old son with Granny overnight and have a much needed romantic weekend.  Searching online, my husband found a Victorian mansion that had become a B&B in Owen Sound, about a three-hour drive north of Kitchener.  

Highland Manor B&B

We packed our overnight bags and took off in our rental car. The drive to Owen Sound from Kitchener was beautiful.  We took country roads that meandered past brick farmhouses and through small Ontario villages.  It was lightly snowing, and we were in the Yuletide spirit, listening to carols on the car radio and stopping for eggnog lattes along the way.  We arrived in Owen Sound just as it was beginning to get dark, and the main street was lit up in Christmas lights and seasonal greenery.  We made our way up to West Hill that overlooks Owen Sound and pulled up to our bed and breakfast.  The Highland Manor Inn is a stately 1872 Victorian manor house with beautiful arched windows and a wrap-around verandah.
The owners Paul and Linda met us upon our arrival and checked us in, and then took us up a sweeping grande curved staircase that ascended 40 feet to the second floor.  Our bedroom room was the "Ross Room" named after the original owners. The room was bright and inviting and had a romantic bedside fireplace that we were enthusiastic to light that evening.  I asked the owners of the B&B to recommend a restaurant to us for our dinner that night, and they kindly called to make reservations at a little steak house down the hill.  The restaurant was nearly booked that evening, but they squeezed us in late for a late meal.  

The Ross Room

That gave me plenty of time to freshen up for dinner and to explore some of the Highland Manor's grand common rooms, all done up in exquisite Victorian Christmas decor.  My favourite place was the music room that sat to the right of the curved central staircase. With its 1902 grand piano and open design, I could imagine the Victorian dinner parties that would have taken place here.  
When we returned back to the Highland Manor from our dinner, it was near 11pm.  Belly full, I decided to go back down to the main floor and enjoy the architecture and decor of the library, which was across from the music room.  Shortly after, my husband came downstairs to join me, and we quietly chatted and thumbed through books and magazines in the library. The lights of the 1o foot tall Christmas tree glowed in the dim lighting of the hall, and the house was still, except for the ticking and chiming of a grandfather clock. 

Just after the clock tolled midnight, a strange thing occurred.  What felt like a cold breeze came spilling down the staircase. It was as if someone had opened a door or window at the top of the stairs.  There was also a distinct strong scent of pine oil cleaning products!  When I say "distinct," I mean it smelled of an old fashioned cleaner like Pine-Sol mixed with bleach; the kind my grandma used to clean her bathroom.  My husband looked at me and asked, "Do you smell that?" to which I replied, "Who would be cleaning at this time of night?" 
Immediately the atmosphere of the room changed, becoming oppressive, and we felt uncomfortable. We decided to turn off the reading light and head up to our bedroom.   
The bedroom felt better.  My husband had the firelog in our room's little fireplace burning, and it was so cozy under the blankets listening to the winter wind blowing against our windows.  Soon our romantic evening took another strange turn; I kept hearing a baby crying.  I speculated with my husband that maybe one of the guests had a baby get sick, therefore explaining the smell of Pine-Sol.  The only problem is that my husband could not hear a baby crying.  I even asked him to poke his head out into the hallway to see if he would be able to hear the baby's cries.  He heard nothing.  Feeling a bit uneasy about the night's events, we decided to go to sleep drifting off on the heavenly Tempur-Pedic memory foam mattress.  

I slept restlessly for a few hours until, at about 3 am, a noise woke me up.  I heard a creaking sound coming from the direction of the window.  I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting them to the dim glow of the firelight.  There, in the corner by the window, I saw the shadow of a woman sitting in the rocking chair!  My eyes flew open, I sat up, and I reached to turn on my bedside light.  She was gone!  My blood ran cold, and I shook my husband awake.  I told him what I had just seen, and he believed me entirely. He told me he had a feeling of being 'watched' while going to sleep.  I was SO scared that I kept the light on for the rest of the night. I kept waking up and looking at the rocking chair...but it remained empty for the rest of the night.


The next morning we went down for a delicious breakfast.  Homebaked scones served with homemade jam and the main breakfast course that we chosen the previous day upon check-in.  I looked around the dining room, surprised I didn't see anyone with a baby that I had heard crying.  As he was pouring the coffee, I asked the owner Paul, if anyone had been cleaning at a late hour the preceding night.  "No," he kind of chuckled nervously in reply and then changed the subject.  


After breakfast, while we were lingering over our coffee, I asked Paul and Linda about the history of the house.  As far as they knew, the house had been built in 1872 by Mr. Ross that had come to Canada from Scotland.  Mr. Ross also owned a hotel down by the water that served the passengers and sailors that came into town on the steamships.  Mr. Ross was unmarried, and no one knows how he had made his fortunes in Scotland. Once Mr. Ross had the Highland Manor built, he brought his two spinster sisters  Ethel and Amy over from Scotland to join him.  After some years, Mr. Ross came into financial hardship and disappeared, leaving the two unmarried sisters to fend for themselves.  They eventually had to sell their beloved Highland Manor house and moved to Vancouver.  The house changed hands several times until it was purchased in 1919 by Miss Moore, who converted the mansion into a private maternity hospital called Miss Moore's. That's right; between 1919 and 1940, over 2,000 births were recorded here!  Surely, there were also some deaths.
  

Scrooge & Marley by John Leech

When Paul told us about the hospital history at The Highland Manor, a chill ran down my spine.  The cleaning smells, the crying baby, the apparition of the woman in the rocking chair, "watching" me all night long; it made sense now.  The Highland Manor is haunted as F***!!! 👻👻👻 After breakfast, we quickly packed our bags and said our farewells to the owners who I am pretty sure had an idea of what kind of supernatural occurrences take place in their home.  I guess stating "haunted accommodation in an elegant setting" on their website doesn't sell rooms.
Since my visit to The Highland Manor Inn over a decade ago, it has become my Christmas tradition to read Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  Reflecting back on my haunted romantic weekend now, I appreciate the Victorians' connection with ghost stories at Christmas time.  Christmas is a time of reflection, taking stock of our lives and remembering those living and dead, who are no longer with us.  

And what is remembered; LIVES.

Have you had a haunted travel experience?  I would love to hear about it in the comments!

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Siena~Tuscany's Medieval Gem

Siena's beautiful red brick historic centre is a Medieval maze of streets seemingly frozen in time. Siena offers shops full of the best Tuscan gourmet foods, wines and hand-painted ceramics.  

I had no expectations or agenda set going to Siena, which is why the town may have delighted me so much.  Other than the crazy bareback horse race called "The Palio" that consumes the city of Siena every summer, I didn't know much about the town at all. I knew Siena was Florence's bitter archrival during the middle ages until it was struck by the plague in 1348.  Yet, whenever I asked people for advice on where to visit in Tuscany, I always received the reply "Siena; you will looooooove Siena!"

Il Campo

Siena is only 56 km or 35 miles from Florence and makes a perfect one-day side trip from Florence.

Driving to Siena from our week-long base in Cortona was very easy to do, and the 45-minute drive across the Valdichiana was absolutely stunning.  Every hilltop we sped by seemed to be crowned with a little village just begging to be explored. Siena is also perched atop a hill, with all its narrow streets gently spilling down into a valley like an ochre waterfall. 

Siena's historical centre or "centro storico" is a car-free zone. We found cheap parking under the bleachers at the soccer stadium just follow the signs for "Stadio" to get to the Stadium.  Public parking at the Stadio is about €2/hr and is the same price as the Fortezza parking nearby.  A short walk from the stadium and one is emersed in a medieval wonderland. 

Navigating your way through the jumble of medieval walls 
to the main square in the centre of town is easy; just look for the 100 metres, (330 foot) tower called "La Torre del Mangia."  This round "square" is unarguably Siena's heart and the best way to get your bearings on a map, and if you can not see the tower, just listen for the bells. Piazza Il Campo is where the 17 neighbourhoods of Siena or "contrade" come together.   Il Campo is also the site of the famous Palio, a no holds barred bareback horse race between 10 of the 17 contradas.  This race has been taking place twice a summer; July 2 and August 16 since the 1600s.  To visit Siena during the Palio, check out the website www.ilpalio.org for tickets and information.

Pigeon heaven is the Fonte Gaia.

Piazza del Campo has got to be my favourite Piazza in Italy so far; it looks like a giant brick scallop shell. The red "Campo" gently slopes towards the "Pallazo Publico" or City Hall in the center.  I was here in mid-September, and Il Campo was a magnet for folks just sitting and sprawling out on the warm bricks. Equipped perhaps with a gelato in hand, you can relax and enjoy the great Italian sport of people-watching.
I could just stretch out on the warm red bricks of the piazza all day and relax listening to the bubbling "Fonte Gaia" behind me.  The Fountain of Joy is the highest point of Il Campo and where the citizens of Siena used to come and fill up their water buckets.  Now it is a fun place to watch the pigeons take a batch and take sips of water from the she-wolves mouths.

Contrada della Lupa

It was time to explore the streets of Siena and head towards the famous cathedral, the Duomo of Siena.  I loved navigating the twisting medieval lanes and walking under the arched alleyways. It was interesting walking through the different "contradas" or neighbourhoods that are all animal-themed.  Siena was on the main trade route from France to Rome, and many of these narrow alleys you walk today were filled with pilgrims and merchants. Siena was a super-power in its heyday, its streets lined with shops and banks where wealthy merchants deposited their money for safekeeping.  In fact, the first bank in Italy was in Siena.

There is some great shopping here too, especially for foodies.  Look for signs in store windows saying "prodotti tipici" or "local products."  I bought the best spice mixes here, as well as local cookies called "ricciarelli,"  which are chewy macaroon & almond delights.  Another local delicacy is delicious fruitcakes called "panforte"  that are only made in Sienna.   See my blog post for more on: Foods of Tuscany   

Other souvenirs s to buy are silk scarves with the different Contrada flags, local wines and beautiful pottery with hand-painted sunflowers and other local designs.  I purchased a bowl and a bunch of hand-painted wine stoppers as gifts to bring home.  It was not cheap, but this is not mass-produced; it is traditional craftsman art, and it is worth every penny to me.  Especially since the shop owner was the artist, who made it by hand.  Bellissimo!

On to Siena's crowning glory; the Duomo.  The city of Siena has changed the pricing of its Duomo.  When we were there in 2013, it was 3 to enter the cathedral and extra for the museum.  Now in 2019, there is a combo pass ticket where the Duomo, library, museum, baptistry, crypt and everything else is included for €15 if you purchase tickets online. Or if you buy your tickets at the door, the price is € 17.  Folks, it is totally worth it!  These precious pieces of art need to be preserved, restored and protected and that all costs significant amounts of coin!

The Duomo of Siena

Siena's Duomo was incredible. The candy cane stripes decorating the outside 0f the Duomo continued on the inside, and every single surface was covered in a piece of beautiful art.  I can imagine simple pilgrims walking in here and falling to their knees in awe! There are priceless Michelangelo, Donatello and Bernini statues. Your eyes just don't know where to look because it is 360 degrees of grandeur. The Piccolomini Library, with its original 550-year-old frescoes, was simply stunning!

Piccolomini Library

My 11-year-old son Liam was SO reticent and patient in the Cathedral, and I thought he was overwhelmed by the crowds. in reality, he was really just counting all the naked "bits" in the paintings on the ceiling!  This is where my child's OCD comes in handy. Liam was still counting penises from when we arrived in Rome a week ago (he is into the hundreds now).   I had another Mom lament to me that she wishes her two children were as well behaved & attentive to all the art as my son is.  I almost blurted out, "oh no, he is just counting penises," but I decided to seize the moment to be a shining parent and just thanked her for the compliment. 😈

Grabbing a cheap lunch in Sienna was easy, we hit the "panini" shop for made to order sandwiches. The best sandwiches are found at Alimentari Pizzicheria De Miccoli located near Il Campo. TIP: smile and point if you don't know the Italian words for the different deli items. Just don't expect any mustard, mayonnaise or other North American condiments to be available for your panini.  The fresh, wonderful Tuscan flavours are all you need to satisfy your taste buds.

Torture Museum

We were wandering around after lunch when we passed by the Medieval Torture Museum, and Liam begged to go in. I told Liam that all the guidebooks warn you that this museum is a rip-off and that it wasn't suitable for children anyway.  Liam made a good case that he wanted to explore something HE was interested in. After all, it only seemed fair after every castle, church and museum I dragged him into.  Actually, the museum had very good (yet gruesome) displays in English with original museum pieces; and the multi-level medieval building itself was quite beautiful and unusual. However, the subject matter was so horrid that I had to sit down and cry at one point.

A real Iron Maiden

The hideous journey through human cruelty of the Museo della Tortura was such a harsh contrast to the beautiful art in the Duomo, with one thing in common: RELIGION.  This contrast was not lost on 11-year-old Liam, and he learned a lot about the horrors of the witch hunts in Europe and how horrible humans can be to one another. For information on the Siena Museo delle Tortura click HERE.  They also have museum locations in San Gimignano, Volterra, Lucca and Montepulciano.

We emerged from the museum a little shaken just as the sun was beginning to set.  The whole city looked so beautiful with the colours of the bricks turning the most incredible shade of rusty red.  We wanted to climb up the Torre del Mangia in the campo to see the sunset, but it seemed like a lot of people had the same idea. For €10 PP and an hour-long line (only 50 people at a time in the tower), we decided to abort the plan. We found an excellent little vantage point over the city behind the Duomo's baptistry on Via di Fonte Branda. This steep lane leads down to Siena's oldest fountain Fonte Branda, dating back to 1081.

Sun goes down on Siena's San Domenico with Fonte Branda below.

Now Siena has become a favourite Tuscan city, and when someone mentions Siena, I get a faraway look in my eyes and moan; "Siena, oh I loooooved Siena."

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Saint Brigid's Holy Well in Kildare, Ireland

Long before Brigid was the Patron saint of Ireland, there was a Goddess Bríde who was venerated all over the Celtic world.  At St. Brigid's well, you feel Ireland's ancient past wrapped around you like a mantle...

Holy wells in Ireland are plentiful. Over 3,000 wells and springs dot the countryside; more than any other country in the world.  Always dedicated to an Irish Saint, in ancient times these sacred wells, were places of power devoted to Celtic Gods and Goddesses. In myth and folktale, sacred springs are portals to the Otherworld, the realm of the unseen...the realm of the faeries.  The holy wells were visited at the four significant Pre-Christian holy days February 1 (Imbolc), May 1 (Beltaine), August 1 (Lughnasadh) and November 1 (Samhain).  Other times a well would be visited was when someone needed healing, poetic inspiration, or trying to conceive a child.  These wells and sacred pools often had fish in them which were said to have magical powers, for they lived in the waters that have healing and transformative power.

St. Brigid's Slippers

Many of the sacred springs and wells in Ireland have elements of pre-Christian ritual sites.  Accompanying the well or natural spring, there was often a standing stone, a natural or man-made hill, and a very ancient tree; oftentimes a Hazelnut or Ash tree.  There was usually a ritual circuit for each sacred site. Often the ritual included circling the well a certain number of times in a clockwise direction, then drinking or bathing in the spring water. The ceremony concluded with leaving an offering for the God, Goddess or Spirit of the well in gratitude.

"Tobar Bride" is Irish for Brigid's Well

When Christianity came to Ireland in the 5th century, Christian churches were often built at the pilgrim site of the holy wells, using the water of the well as a baptismal font.  There are even some churches built directly over pagan wells that still have a subterranean spring in its crypt!  



As the new Christian stone churches were being built, gathering at the holy well sights either fell out of popularity or was forbidden.  After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-1500s, many Roman-Catholics had nowhere to worship once their Church was disbanded or destroyed.  Catholic parishioners then decided to gather once again at the holy well sights on the Parish's Patron Saint's Feast Day.  The word 'Patron' turned into 'Pattern' and visiting Holy Wells on 'Pattern Day' became very popular in Irish culture in the 1700s.

The Spring & The Stones Leading to The Well

I visited Kildare's "Tobar Bríde" or Saint Brigid's well. In Irish, Tobar means well, and Bríde is one of the spellings for the Celtic Goddess Brigid.  Kildare or Cill Dara is Irish for "Church of the Oak," and it is in Kildare that St. Brigid established her monastery in the 5th century.  Check out my blog post on Saint Brigid for more information on this fascinating woman that helped shape the history of Ireland.



Kildare is about a 45-minute drive from Dublin on the M7 motorway.  While St. Brigid's Cathedral is located in the heart of Kildare, the well is located on the Southside of the M7 in a park-like setting.  From Dublin heading East on the M7 take the Kildare Centre exit and head South on the R415 following the directions to the Irish National Stud.  Take the second left, and you will see a sign to the well on a small laneway to the right.  There is parking for a few cars at the entrance gate to the park.

Cloutie Tree To The Left of The Well

I had learned about St. Brigid's well from some women in my spiritual community back home in Vancouver, Canada,  In fact, while I was visiting the well in Kildare, an Irish-Canadian woman was gathering water to bring back to her home in Toronto.  The woman was a Catholic, and she explained that she believed the waters from this well helped to heal her from her cancer.

The well is in a small park maintained by the Brigidine Sisters.  The deep well with a stone cross is fed by an underground spring.  The water then travels in an underground stream and path is marked by "station stones"  where one would say prayers at each stone.  Then the flow pops to the surface again at a stone archway leading to a stepped channel.  The two U-shaped stones under the arch are called St. Brigid's Slippers and are flumes to divert the flow when the water is running high.  Tradition has it that this area was used for early Christian baptisms and healing rituals.   


  

St Brigid by Annette McCormack

Behind the well is a traditional clootie tree.  A "clootie" or "cloutie" is a strip of cloth or leather. The cloutie strip is dipped into the well or spring and then used to wash the affected area of the body.  The cloutie is then tied to a sacred tree next to the well, and as the cloth turns to rags and disintegrates, the illness will disappear.  

Another tradition of sacred wells is the spotting of a tiny fish in the well.  Of course, the symbol of the fish was an early symbol for Christianity before the cross.  If you peer into the well at Tobar Bride, you may spot a little fish frolicking in the spring.  A sighting of the fish is supposed to ensure that St. Brigid has answered your prayers.

  




I am happy to report there was a goldfish sighting in the dark waters of Tobar Bride in August of 2018. Let me tell you my prayers were answered swiftly and directly!  The transformative energy of Brigid was not a slow burn, but a raging inferno that has changed the course of my life forever.  

I hope you have the opportunity to add one of Ireland's magical holy wells to your Irish itinerary.

For another of my blog posts on Ancient Sacred Sites in Ireland click HERE

In Ireland, this world and the next are only separated by a thin veil. Whisper questions into the sacred wells and your answers will appear...

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Storytime: Ireland's Brigid-Saint or Goddess?

 Ireland has many holy wells dedicated to its patron Saint; St. Brigid.  There is also a Celtic Goddess named Brighid who was worshipped long before Christianity arrived in Ireland.  So what is the difference between these two and the significance of the ancient pilgrim sites dedicated to them?

I have found Ireland's myths, legends and history so enticing and also so confusing, but Brigid is by far the most intriguing for me.  Many similarities between the Celtic Goddess Brighid (who is also Brigit, Bríg, Bride-pronounced breet) and the Christian Saint Brigid have scholars debating whether they are one and the same.  Brigid is sometimes referred to as "Muire na nGael" or "The Mary of The Gaels," and along with Saint Patrick and Saint Colomba, Saint Brigid is Ireland's third official patron Saint.  I am in no way a scholar or academic; just a travel lover, a story lover, & Goddess lover.  This blog post addresses all three.  

The Legend Of Brigid 

According to a book written about the life of St. Brigid in the early 600's, she was born in Faughart (also spelled Fochart) which is close to the town of Drogheda near the modern border of Northern Ireland.  St. Brigid was said to have been born around the year 451 to a beautiful Pictish slave mother named Brocca and a Pagan Chieftain of Leinster named Dubhthach.  Brocca was a converted Christian who was said to have been baptized by Saint Patrick himself.  When Brocca was pregnant with Brigid, Dubhthach's wife, who was jealous of Brocca's beauty and the attention her husband paid to her, sold Brocca to a Druid.  There is no mention of the Druid being a man or a woman since a Druid could be either-but my hunch was the Druid was a female.  This Druid Priestess mid-wifed Brocca and helped to raise Brigid and I suspect the Priestess also had a hand in naming Brigid.  The Druid helped to raise Brigid and let her work alongside her mother in the dairy the Druid owned, probably training her to become a Druid as well.   Young Brigid gained a considerable reputation for healing the sick, feeding the poor from the dairy and performing miracles; one of them being turning water into beer.  That sounds vaguely familiar for some reason 😉

A "Bogha Bride" or St. Brigid's Cross

Now Brocca was the property of the Druid, but Brigid was still the property of her Cheiftan father.  As the legend has it, when Brigid was 10, she was returned to the household of her father Dubhthatch and raised alongside her half-brothers and sisters.  Brigid soon turned into a lovely young woman like her mother. Approaching close to marrying age, her father wanted to use Brigid's marriage to make alliances with other Pagan Chieftains.  Her father brought Brigid to the court of the King of Leinster to either sell her or to find a suitable husband that would strengthen his political alliances.  At court, Bridgid told the King that she did not wish to marry and become the property of a man again and that she wanted to become a Christian nun.  The King of Leinster at the time was Crimthann mac Énnai a Christian King baptized by Saint Patrick like Brigid's mother. The King had heard of Brigid's miracles and convinced Brigid's father to free her from slavery as long as she promised to take the vow of Christianity.  Dubthatch complied, and Brigid returned to her mother at the dairy and continued to feed the sick and poor and to also keep learning from the Druid, growing into an intelligent and formidable woman.  



Brighid The Goddess

St. Brigid's Holy Well, Kildare

At this time, Celtic Christianity was different from Roman Christianity because of the societal structure of the Celts and their intense connection to nature; many people blended the new Christian beliefs with the old Celtic religion.  The Celtic Goddess Brighid was revered all over Ireland as a life-giving Goddess of midwifery, healing, poetry, animal husbandry; especially cows which were scared to the people of Ireland dating all the way back to Neolithic times. Brighid was the virginal keeper of the flame, fire and smithcraft, representing transformation.  She was also the Goddess of the Spring and her sacred day was the Celtic festival of Imbolc, celebrated on February 1st, the official start of Spring for the Celtic people.  

The idea that St. Brigid was trained as a Druid was not uncommon for this time in Ireland, and many "Holy" men & women were versed in ways of the Old Region as well as the new religion of Christianity.  Around the year 468, a 17-year-old Brigid took "the Veil" to become a nun, but was ordained the first Abbess in Ireland. Appointed by St. Patrick's nephew St. Mél of Ardagh who "accidentally" read the wrong ceremony and ordained Brigid as a bishop instead of a nun-whoops!   St. Mél claimed the error was an act of God and did not rectify the mistake, giving St. Brigid substantial power.   Brigid set out with St. Mél and his disciple St. Mac Caille to convert Pagan Cheiftans in central Ireland to Christianity.  Along with St. Mac Caille (sometimes spelled Maccaille) Brigid set up an early Christian monastery at a holy well at Croghan Hill which was an ancient Pagan burial site.  A group of women soon joined her there, and her community proliferated.  

St. Brigid's following was growing so rapidly in fact, she decided to ask her old buddy, the King of Leinster for some land to establish her own abbey.  There is a myth about St. Brigit's Cloak magically expanding to cover all the area where the King would allow Brigid to build her monastery.  What is more likely, is that Brigid wanted to establish her abbey in a specific Pagan spot, later named Cill Dara so that she could carry out her work.  "Cill Dara" in Irish means "Church of the Oak" and where we get the modern Irish name for the town of Kildare.   Oak trees are sacred to Druids, and the site Brigid selected to build her convent was a nemeton or a Druidic sacred Oak Grove.  In this sacred grove, an eternal flame burned in the honour of the Celtic Goddess Brighid and was tended around the clock by Druid priestesses. Remember the King of Leinster was a Christian, so giving Brigid a Druidic place of worship to establish her monastery was definitely a calculated move on his part.



Brigid Of Kildare

St Brigid Flame in Kildare, Ireland

The Abbey that St Brigid established in Kildare was unusual for several reasons.  The abbey was co-ed, housing both monks and nuns which was very uncommon for that time in history.  Brigid also kept the tradition of the sacred flame alive.  Nineteen nuns took turns holding twenty-four-hour vigils tending the flame, and on the 20th day, the Goddess Brighid Herself was said to tend the flame.  The sacred fire on the hill of Kildare was never to be extinguished; keeping the holy traditions of the Druids of Cill Dara. In addition to this, St. Brigid (and the Abbesses who came after her) co-ruled Cill Dara with an Abbott, but the Abbess ranked above the Abbot essentially holding the same privileges as a Bishop, which is why St Brigid is often depicted with a Bishop's crozier.   The power over Kildare Cathedral and Abbey that was given to St. Brigid (and the abbesses that followed) by the Church, lasted until the year 1152 and has never happened again in the history of the Catholic Church.   St. Brigid's community at Cill Dara expanded, and she convinced St. Conleth, a religious hermit who lived in the woods nearby, to help her establish a school of art, illumination and metalwork.   Over time Cill Dara developed into a monastic city like Glendalough.

Saint Bride by John Duncan 1913

Saint Brigid is said to have died on February 1st, somewhere between the year  521-525.  February 1st is St. Brigid's feast day in the Catholic church, and it is also the Celtic Pagan holy day of Imbolcas I mentioned earlier.  How curious that the Goddess and the Saint are celebrated on the same day...I am convinced it is not a coincidence.   I also believe that St. Brigid was a powerful Druid High Priestess as well as Catholic Bishop and her specific brand of Christianity allowed many Pagans to convert to the new religion and still maintain their beliefs in the Goddess Brighid.
In the year 1993, an order of Brigidine nuns re-lit Brigid's eternal flame in Kildare, and you can see it today if you visit the Solas Bhride Centre and Hermitages. You can also see the original stone foundation of the fire temple at the Kildare cathedral and a round tower that you can actually climb to the top!  Nearby is St. Brigid's holy well, located in a park-like setting, where you can feel the healing & peaceful presence of both Brighid and St. Brigid. 

As far as I can tell, the radiant energy of Brighid's holy wells, pilgrim sites and churches in Ireland are the same, even if the story of Brigid may be different.  I hope you have the chance to experience this energy yourself soon...

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