Faerie forts, holy wells, and haunted castles.

On Sunday I travel to Ireland for the first time. The plan is to simply ramble and discover what we may -- to find that narrow land between history and folklore and pull up a chair.

Question now for my bizarre kin: Any recommendations or must dos that you might pass along? Helpful hints, inside tips and favorite haunts are most welcome.

Here's one I've done a bit of research on and I think I know where to find it. I will try.

Tullaghan Hill Holy Well (Hawk's Well)

"Tullaghan is a strange place that is steeped in very ancient lore and legend. There is a famous well there which is still called the Hawk’s Well or some such name to this very day. In old, old stories they say that Gamh, a servant of an ancient king called Eremon, was beheaded there for some reason and that his head was thrown into the well. Ever after, the water had a bitter taste at certain times. Another old story said that Caorthanach (the Mother of Devils), the last demon that even the Blessed Patrick couldn’t drive out of Ireland, came down to drink there at night, when it was dark, and that her spittle poisoned the water, making it taste strange. But everybody knew that the lands around Tullaghan, up into the Ox Mountains, were badly fairy-haunted. It was said that fairies hid behind every rock and every bush, waiting to carry the unwary away."

― from "Irish Tales From The Otherworld: Ghosts, Fairies And Evil Spirits" by Bob Curran

NOTE: If I you don't hear from me in a couple of weeks bring an iron knife, that's been dipped in well water, to Rabbits' Rock. Hide in the shadows till I pass with my fairie captors around midnight. Leap out and cut my bonds, but do not speak a single word until we are safely down Tullaghan Hill or I'll be lost forever in the realm of fairie.

Bizarre Regards,
Perkins

Camp at Doolin, and enjoy music & Guiness at the bar prior to seeing the class of Moher - like something from Tolkien!

Also St Kevin's tower is a beautiful and mystical spot.

So many, but those 2 really struck me.

May the road rise to meet you..

Cliffs of Moher? Well worth a look.

Ireland, ah the memories... Like the night my (then) husband ran off with a local trollop! His problem was: I ran faster!



Or to quote my favorite Irish author (not Joyce): “Put a thief among honest men and they will eventually relieve him of his watch.”

To quote my favorite Irish author (not Joyce): "If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks."

Must see places:

- Brú na Bóinne (Palace of the Boyne) a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland. The largest, most important complex of Megalithic sites in Europe, dating to the Neolithic period. The complex is situated around a wide bend in the River Boyne. The site is a complex of Neolithic mounds, chamber tombs, standing stones, henges and other prehistoric enclosures, some from as early as 35th century BCE to the 32nd century BCE. The site was built with the knowledge of science and astronomy, which is most evident in the passage grave of Newgrange.

- Scota’s Grave (an African-Kemetic Princess of whom Scotland was named after), located just south of Tralee in County Kerry beside the Finglas rivulet in Trughanacmy. It marks what is the grave of Meritaten Tasherit (Scota), likely to have been the daughter of Meritaten, eldest daughter of the African-Kemetic King/Nesut Bity (misnomered "Pharaoh") Akhenaten (Friel). The traditional name of the location is Glenn Scoithin, meaning "vale of the little flower".

Meritaten Tasherit (Scota) to whom the Gaels trace their ancestry, allegedly explaining the name Scoti, applied by the Romans to Irish raiders, and later to the Irish invaders of Argyll and Caledonia which became known as Scotland. Edward J. Cowan has traced the first appearance of Scota in literature to the 12th century. Scota appears in the Irish chronicle "Book of Leinster" (containing a redaction of the "Lebor Gabála Érenn"). A recension found in an 11th-century manuscript of the Historia Brittonum contains an earlier reference to Scota. The 12th-century sources state that Scota was the daughter of an African-Kemetic/Ancient Egyptian Nesut Bity (King), a contemporary of Moses, who married Geytholos (Goídel Glas) and became the eponymous founders of the Scots and Gaels after being exiled from Kemet/Ancient Egypt.

In one myth, in the redactions of the Lebor Gabála Érenn it states that Scota was the daughter of an African-Kemetic/Ancient Egyptian Nesut Bity (King) named "Cingris", a name found only in Irish legend. She married Niul, son of Fenius Farsaid, a Babylonian who travelled to Scythia after the collapse of the Tower of Babel. Niul was a scholar of languages, and was invited by the Nesut Bity (King) of Kemet/Ancient Egypt and given Scota’s hand in marriage. They had a son, Goídel Glas, the eponymous ancestor of the Gaels, who created the Gaelic language by combining the best features of the 72 languages then in existence. Although these legends vary, they all agree that the African-Kemetic Princess Meritaten Tasherit (Scota) was the eponymous founder of the Scots and that she also gave her name to Scotland. Baldred Bisset is first credited to have fused the Stone of Scone with the Scota foundation legends in his Processus (1301), putting forward an argument that it was Scotland and not Ireland which was the original Scoti homeland. Bisset was keen to legitimize a Scottish (as opposed to English) accession to the throne after Alexander III of Scotland, who died in 1286. Alexander himself at his coronation in 1249 heard his royal genealogy recited back through 56 generations to Meritaten Tasherit (Scota). Bisset therefore attempted to legitimise a Scottish accession by making Meritaten Tasherit (Scota) significant, as having transported the Stone of Scone from Kemet/Ancient Egypt during the exodus of Moses to Scotland. In 1296 the Stone itself was captured by Edward I and taken to Westminster Abbey. Robert the Bruce in 1323 used Bisset’s same legend connecting Meritaten Tasherit to the stone in attempt to get the stone back to Scotland’s Scone Abbey.

The grave of Scota reputedly lies in a valley, south of Tralee town, in County Kerry, Ireland. The area is known as Glenn Scoithin, "Vale of the little flower", more normally known as "Foley’s Glen". Indicated by a County Council road signpost, a trail from the road leads along a stream to a clearing where a circle of large stones marks the grave site. Meritaten Tasherit (Scota), which means Meritaten the Younger was a Kemetic/Ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. She is likely to have been the daughter of Meritaten, eldest daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The Gaels traced their ancestry to two different daughters of two different Egyptian Kings named "Scota".

- Dún Ailinne, County Kildare, Ireland. An ancient ceremonial site on the hill of Cnoc Ailinne (Knockaulin) in County Kildare, Ireland. It is southwest of Kilcullen, near the N78 road to Athy. It is a large circular enclosure covering most of the hilltop; about 13 hectares. Archeological investigations show that there were once circular timber structures (or rings of upright timbers) inside the enclosure. The whole site is on private farmland and casual access is restricted due to difficulties with livestock; in general, the owners of the land have no problem with people having a stroll as long as they ask permission beforehand at the farmhouse just on the north-east side of the hill beside the N78 road. According to Irish mythology, Dún Ailinne was one of the great royal sites of early Gaelic Ireland and is believed to have been where the Kings of Leinster were inaugurated. It is similar to the other royal sites of Tara (Kings of Meath), Navan Fort (Kings of Ulster) and Rathcroghan (Kings of Connacht).

On another note, one of the original godfather's of bizarre magick, Tony "Doc" Shiels lives in Ireland. Just recently Mark Edwards, Doc Shiels and I all collaborated on a routine called "Saint Brigid’s Cross" in Mark's new book Class Acts.

Newgrange.

Wicklow Mountains and I'll secind St Kevin's Tower. Check the end credits of Excalibur, as much of it was filmed in the green land.

I adored Sligeach (which is Irish for Gesundheit).
Though my being there had nothing to do with sightseeing but was due to a large admiration for Bram Stoker and Spike Milligan.

Many thanks, all. My todo list is now peppered with new possibilities. I'll be sure to raise a pint to the Spooky corners of the web.

Slán!

If you get an opportunity to go see Maeve's tomb...pass. I long hike up a relatively steep hill to see...a gravel pile. I joked to my wife that it was actually someone like Paddy McBastard and folks buried him and and stacked stones on his grave and asked "Do you think that's enough to keep him down? ...Better put a few more on, just in case." And that's when things got out of control. But yes, Brugh na Boyne, Rock Close and Blarney Castle, Cliffs of Moher and Doolin (the Craic is mighty), any one of the dozen or so Brighid's Wells, Lia Fial (just to see if it cries out when you lay hands on it naming you the new High King), Giant's Causeway...the list goes on and on.

Perkins...come to Scotland!