THE MIDKNIGHT GARDEN: KNIGHTS OF THE RED ORDER

‘The next day, day six was a beautiful sunny day as the photos will testify and it was just a ten mile drive from Clonakilty, Cork where we were staying for the next 4 nights, to Rosscarberry and our first port of call for the day’

Day Six: 17th September: St Fachtna’s Cathedral. Rosscarberry: (Irish: Ros Ó gCairbre, meaning ‘Cairbre’s wood’) is a town in County Cork that sits on a shallow estuary, opening onto Rosscarbery Bay. The area has been occupied since at least the Neolithis period, as evidenced by several Neolithic sites such as portal dolmens. The area is also home to a number of Bronze Age remains, including stone circles, ring forts and holy wells. Due to its popularity as a centre of pilgrimage it was also known as Ros Ailithir (“Wood of the Pilgrims”). The hereditary chieftains of the area, or tuath, were the O’Leary’s, known as Uí Laoghaire Ruis Ó gCairbre, until it passed to Norman control in the early thirteenth century. In March 1921, during the Irish War of Independance, Tom Barry’s 3rd Cork IRA Brigade attacked and destroyed the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Rosscarbery. Two RIC officers were killed in the attack, and nine others were injured. There is a plaque on the site of the former barracks, beside the current Garda station, commemorating the event. In the 20 years between the 1991 and 2011 census, the population of Rosscarbery grew by approximately 17%, to 534 people. As of the 2016 census, the population of the town was then 490. Although it looked an interesting place to explore, it was the catherdral which was our focus of attention and we spent an interesting time there.

A gorgeous day to visit St Fachtna’s Cathedral, one of the keystone churches <click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosscarbery

Although at first the cathedral appeared to be locked, a quick phone call was all it took for us to be let in by a very chatty and obliging guy, attached to the church of course. He of course turned out to be the very kind Rector Chris, whom shared his history and knowledge with us. He certainly knew his history of the cathedral and the area, so we were treated to a personal guided tour. It was so important to be able have access to St Fachtna’s Catherdral today, as it is a Keystone Church, an energy point and it is said that there are some very important remains hidden within it’s walls… This cathedral is one of the smallest in Ireland, yet lovingly looked after and beautiful inside and out. St. Fachtna’s Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Church of St Faughan, has been a place of Christian worship for over 1400 years and is one of the most significant religous sites in Ireland. The current cathedral dates from the 1600’s, and was extensively restored in the 19th century. It is the smallest cathedral in Ireland, being the size of a small parish church. It is also the only cathedral in Ireland in which the bellringers can be seen from inside the building. There are a fine set of six bells here, in the key of G, and they are regularly rung.

 

The interior was immaculate and beautifully cared for <click to enlarge>

Here St. Fachtna founded a monastic school in AD 590. Pilgrims and scholars came from near and far and gained for Ross the title “Ross Ailithir”: the wooded headland of the pilgrims. The ruins of a church erected by St Faughnan still exist on the southern slope of the land on which Rosscarbery is built . A church or cathedral has occupied the site since at least the tenth century, and after Bishop John Edmund de Courcy resigned in 1517, Pope Leo X ordered an inquiry into the state of the diocese, and it was noted that by then a cathedral stood on the site. It was known at that time as Tiompal mor Feachtna, or “Feachtna’s big temple”

Such wonderful carvings to see, and very much a part of our Grail Quest, with subtle clues for the keen and learned of eye <click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fachtna_of_Rosscarbery

The first reference to a Cathedral on this site is in the 12th. century. The present building dates from 1612 and was extensively rebuilt following the Rebellion of 1641. Significant developments occurred within the building in the nineteenth century. The spire of the original building was removed in either 1785, 1793, or 1795, with the current spire being added in 1806. The walls of the church were freestone, but what remained of the old walls were plastered and dashed in 1880. Storms have blown the top of the spire over on two occasions, once in the winter of 1886, and then again in February 1923. Between 2002 and 2005, major restorations were carried out on the cathedral, including rebuilding the organ and restoring the bells. In 2012, an additional bell was added to the tower.

A joy to see so many treaured artifacts still in place <click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Church_of_St._Fachtna

 

Many stunning windows and plaques tell the history of the cathedral <click to enlarge>

Grail Bloodline Connection:

• A Keystone church and energy point

Drombeg Stone Circle Co Cork: Just a very short drive away was this very impresive stone circle, a small axial stone circle, also known as ‘The Druid’s Altar’. Luckily it was quiet when we arrived even though a very popular place to visit. The stone circle originally consisted of seventeen closely spaced stones, made of local sandstone, of which 13 survive. The circle spans 31 ft in diameter. As an axial or “Cork–Kerry” stone circle, it contains two taller entrance stones placed opposite a recumbent axial stone. Its axis is orientated south west towards the setting sun. The most westerly stone is the long recumbent and has two egg shaped cup marks, one with a ring around it. An axial stone circle, also known as a “Cork–Kerry type” stone circle, it is flanked by a pair of high axial portal stones, which mark the entrance to the stone circle, and face the recumbent altar stone. This arrangement creates a south-west axis, and orients the monument in the direction of the setting sun during the midwinter solstice.

Drombeg Stone Circle: an amazing site with powerful energies, interesting features and of course Craft/Grail quest connections hdden within the land. Old stories, from the physical and the metaphysical realms never fail to delight….  <click to enlarge>

Near the stone circle, approximately 40m to the west, are two round stone-walled prehistoric huts and a fulacht fiadh which evidence suggests was in use until approximately the 5th century AD. Of the two huts, the largest had a timber roof supported by timber posts. The smaller hut contains the remains of a cooking sport on its eastern side. A causeway leads from the huts to the fulacht fiadh, which has a hearth, well and a water trough.

The domestic areas, although some parts allude to a more sinister past (as the energies testify) especially as bones have been recovered here…<click to enlarge>

Following a number of surveys in the early 1900s, the site was excavated and restored in 1957. Radio Carbon Dating of samples taken from the site suggest that it was active c. 1100 – 800 BC. An inverted pot, found in the centre of the circle, contained the cremated remains of a young adolescent wrapped with thick cloth. The pot was found close to the centre of the circle and was found alongside smashed sherds and a collection of sweepings from a pyrle, so one could hazard a gues that it was a place of sacrifice too…. Parts of the site are still to be excavated, so who knows what will be discovered there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drombeg_stone_circle

A riddle from Mr Karl Neville to make you think about the secrets of the stones & what they may have witnessed…

Grail Bloodline Connection:

• King Niall Mac Echdach. King of Ireland (53rd GGF) 311 – 378 (67)

Mizen Head: Not a part of our quest but this stunning area was recommended to us by some fellow travellers and as we were in the area it proved to be well worth a vist, for the views of the coastline are simply out of this world! It is a stop on the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’, a route that takes in all the wild and ancient places. Ireland truly is the land of dreams…. 

It was a stunning drive to reach it too. Mizen Head is one of the extreme points of Irealand and is a major tourist attraction, noted for its dramatic cliff scenery. One of the main transatlantic shipping routes passes close by to the south, and Mizen Head was, for many seafarers, the first (or last) sight of Europe. The tip of the peninsula is almost an island, cut off by a deep chasm, now spanned by a bridge; this gives access to an old signal station and a lighthouse. The signal station, once permanently staffed, is now a museum housing displays relating to the site’s strategic significance for transatlantic shipping and communications, including the pioneering efforts of Guglielmo Marconi. The “99 steps” which formed part of the original access route have been supplemented by a series of paths and viewing platforms, and a full range of visitor facilities is available at the entrance to the site, however it is not for the faint-hearted or for those challenged by walking, for there are lots of steps and very steep slopes to navigate up and down the rocky cliffs.

Mizen Head: A most stunning place, one of the most stunning on the planet! <click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizen_Head

Day Seven: 18th September: Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral. Cork: It was another gorgeous day as we left our digs in Shannonvale, Clonakilty for a very full day ahaead but not before we espied the welcome sign over the door!

The city of Cork: (Irish: ‘Corcaigh’ from ‘corach’ meaning “marsh) is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and is  located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster, in 2019 it’s population was 210,000. The city centre is an island positioned between two channels of the River Lee which meet downstream at the eastern end of the city centre, where the quays and docks along the river lead outwards to one of the largest natural harbours in the world.  Cork was originally a monastic settlement, reputedly founded by Saint Finbarr in the 6th century and became (more) urbanised some point between 915 and 922 when Norsemen settlers founded a trading port. The ecclesiastical settlement continued alongside the Viking longphort, with the two developing a type of symbiotic relationship; the Norsemen providing otherwise unobtainable trade goods for the monastery, and perhaps also military aid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_(city)

 

Views of Cork from the car <click to view>

This cathedral is stunning both inside and out and we spent quite a long time there, as there was so much to see. It is full of symbolism, beautifully represented in astounding pieces of artwork. We met some really kind and freindly people there and took part in a little personal service too. Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral (Irish: Ardeaglais Naomh Fionnbarrra) is a Gothic Revival three-spired Church of Ireland on the River Lee, dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, the patron saint of the city. The Christian use of the site dates back to the 7th century, when according to local lore, Finbarr founded a monastry there, which survived until the 12th century, when it fell into disuse, or was destroyed during the Norman invasion.

The stunning architecture of Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral <click to view>

Around 1536, during the Protestant Reformation, the cathedral became part of the Church of Ireland, but the previous building constructed in the 1730’s was regarded as plain and featureless, so a demolition and rebuild was commisioned and work began in 1863; a project for Victorian archetect William Burges who designed most of the archetecture, stained glass and interior features etc, including the beautiful angel on the roof. Saint Fin Barre’s foundation stone was laid in 1865 and the cathedral consecrated in 1870 and the limestone spires completed by October 1879.

So many amazing artworks and treasure inside the cathedral, it is hard to know where to look; and maybe some grail clues too… <click to view>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Fin_Barre%27s_Cathedral

Because we had a personal tour kindly given by one of the guys connected to the cathedral, we were shown a few things that many visitors would just pass by, and thus learned some interesting infomation about te cathedral too, such as seeing the original artworks and designs of the cathedral. They were right at the back of the building, so easily missed. We were also shown a simply amazing register of some of the fallen of the parish, hand written and guilded as of times of old.

The original designs for the cathedral <click to view>

“A grand cathedral yes, but hidden amongst all the ‘pomp and circumstance’ of that which stands in for spirituality these days, one can still feel the energies of an older site, an older place, older energies of that which went before, and that which we seek both in the metaphysical and physical can surely be found within the subtle clues that are all around us and that which is hidden can be revealed…..”

Grail Bloodline Connections:

• Earl Gospatrick Mac Maldred (26th GGF) 1042-1082

Christ Church: Rath-Healy, Fermoy, County Cork: So the last location of the day, on what had been a very busy and interesting day. Sadly though as it turned out this church was closed and looked to be it really in much use, although i still took some lovelt photos! Fermoy(Irish: Mainistir Fhear Maí, meaning ‘monastery of the Men of the Plain’) is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. The town’s name comes from the Irish and refers to a Cistercian abbey founded in Fermoy, in the 13th century. At the dissolution of the monastries during the Tudor period, the abbey and its lands passed through various dynasties. However, the site could hardly have been regarded as a town and, by the late 18th century, was little more than a few cabins and an inn.

Mick Davis’s powerful sculptures from 2001 reference the Cistercian monks in Fermoy and they stand as guardians outside Christ Church. <click to enlage>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermoy

Christ Church, Fermoy was designed by Abraham Hargrave the Elder, and consecrated in 1809. The land on which it is sited was donated by the Baylor Family, whose descendants worship in Christ Church to this day. The majority of the building costs were paid by John Anderson, Founder of the town of Fermoy, and John Hyde of Castlehyde. There is not a lot  on the internet about this particualar church and many visitors whom like us, could not get in, seem to think it is closed premantly, which is a shame. It is a classical town-church by Abraham Hargrave, 1805-1810 with a  south transept added by Welland and a north transept not built, but with a vestry by Arthur Hill, 1890.

Sadly closed but it still felt nice to be there with the flowers and guardians watching over…. <click to enlarge>

A broach spire and transepts in the Hiberno-Romanesque style were added in the late nineteenth century. The attenuated neo-classical proportion of the windows are typical of County Cork, while the east window case, which incorporates ionic columns and robust scroll brackets, is the most interesting feature of the building.

http://www.blackwater.ie/fermoy/ferpchr.htm

Grail Bloodline Connections:

• Lord Robert De Neville (21st GGF) 1237-1271

And finally some words to share…