A Hermit in Kildare

On my last day at Solas Bhride, I spent all morning writing and needed to stretch my legs. I wanted to see two things for which the town of Kildare is famous. One is the National Stud and Gardens, and the other is one of Brigid’s wells.

I went to the well first. The well is off the beaten path, and you have to walk down a long trail before it opens up into a little park surrounding the well. The well itself dates to Celtic times and is fed by an underground spring. The stones probably date to medieval times, when Saint Brigid, who founded an abbey at Kildare in 470, was conflated with the Celtic goddess. The goddess Brigid was the goddess of poetry, healing, and smithing, and she is associated with wells all over Ireland, because for the Celts, a well brought healing power flowing from the heart of Mother Earth.

The underground spring comes up again under a stone archway, with a line of rough “prayer stones” between the arch and well, where pilgrims traditionally stop and offer a prayer at each stone. The water flows under the archway and over two stones called “Brigid’s Shoes,” then continues on as a little stream.

People who make pilgrimages to the wells dip “clooties,” or pieces of rags, in the water, then tie them to trees. Some of these are petitions for healing or other blessings, and some are in thanks for blessings received.

I was there alone the morning I went, and it was a very beautiful and peaceful place to sit and reflect. I left a clootie on the tree for the Magdalenes, and I lit a candle. Maybe Brigid will bless me with poetic inspiration.

Next I walked to the National Stud. I’m not around horses much, and I’ve been to ONE horse race in my life, so this was a surprise to me. Apparently, Ireland is quite proud of its thoroughbred horses and breeding programs, and the founder of the stud, which is now owned by the government, also loved Asian-inspired gardens, and he brought in a Japanese master to design a garden at his stud farm. Strange combo, maybe, but it was a double delight for me.

You can walk around the stud and see horses in very large paddocks. I never made it to see the stallions, because of course, I fell completely in love with the mares and foals. Many of the foals were very new and just out of the foaling unit, so they still had their little fuzzy squirrel tails. One mare, in particular, as I stood at the fence, got between me and her foal. She smelled me, shoved me a little, and let me scratch her forehead and stroke her side. Then she circled around behind the foal and let the foal come over and check me out. It nibbled my sleeve and let me rub its nose. Then they just sort of relaxed and hung out with me. I stayed put until they got tired and wandered off. By then, I had just enough time to see the garden and head back.

I’ve done a hermitage several times around my birthday. Solitude can be scary at first for those of us who live daily in the noisy, chatty world, but I always feel renewed by the time I leave. I’m so grateful for my wee Irish hermitage at Solas Bhride this year, and for my bunny neighbors, for the equine love, and for the blessings of Brigid.