The Morrigan

What a day! Just back from  blipmeet with TJ  , Bat andCarolineL . We headed off towards Castletownsend - first stop a reconstructed ringfort with stunning views from up high. However it was grey, cold and misty but undeterred we then crossed the road and headed through amazing grasses towards the 3 Fingers - long skinny standing stones. Clambering over the last wall we saw the Fingers were protected by a herd of bold cattle who eyed us with interest then started getting frisky. Don't run warned Bat as we moved swiftly towards the wall!

Next stop Castlehaven - a magical spot - safe harbour, old castle, church and holy well. We followed a green path planted with tree ferns and beeches and peered in at the big house. The mist had well and truly come down at this point and we ate a very delicious picinic in the mizzle. Still undeterred we headed off to Toe Head - a little peninsula, full of tiny roads, abandoned houses and an astonishing array of wild flowers flowers. We walked along the cliff top and admired the promontary fort, all of us braving the tiny strip of land that joined the fort to the mainland, crashing rocks below. We carried on and then suddenly the sun broke through and everything looked utterly different. Our last stop of the day was an 18C signal tower complete with choughs, sadly rubbish ridden inside but in extremly good condition outside. Oh, and we found a holy well once dedicated to St Bartholomew and now thick with mud.

The title of the blip - The Morrigan is the ancient Irish goddess of war and battle, a bit like a Valkyrie,  who would sometimes appear on the battlefield  in the form of a crow. In the end it was the magic of the Morrigan who killed Cúchulainn , the mightiest of all Irish heroes - she tried all the shape shifting tricks in the book - beautiful woman, wolf, cow, but it was the acceptance of some milk from her in the guise of an old hag that was his undoing and enfeebled him allowing himself to become mortally injured. Fatally wounded, Cúchulainn tied himself to a standing stone with his own entrails so he could die upright, and it was only when the Morrigan, in the form of a crow, landed on his shoulder that his enemies believed he was dead and dared to approach him.  Crow, standing stones, cattle .... maythical happenings in west Cork.