Tea at Trianon: Holy Wells of Ireland

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, March 17, 2023

Holy Wells of Ireland

St. Brigid's Holy Well in Kildare

My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up...The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus. ~Canticle of Canticles 4:12, 15

The Irish have spread their holy well devotion throughout the world. We have a "holy well" in Frederick County, Maryland, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. And miracles occur there. From Irish Central:

It will all be worth the trouble, however (call it penance!), as nearly all these wells are in stunning locations high up in the mountains, isolated on islands, or in wild and remote places, such as the Burren in Co. Clare, which has an amazing forty holy wells. The Celts, monks and saints certainly knew how to pick the best sites for peaceful prayer or contemplation. Many Irish holy wells are named after St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland; St Brigid, patron saint of Co. Kildare who founded a convent in the county; or a local saint, such as St Colman in Co. Clare.

Holy wells in Ireland are often credited with a cure and, traveling around the country, you will find the cure to most ailments hidden away in a local well. Popular cures involve using the water to sort out you teeth or eyes. Whether that was because of the lack of dentists or the expense of spectacles at the time, who knows, but these places are still being visited today. Even if nothing too serious ails you, world-weary travelers can seek solace in nature in any of the country's holy wells. Sit beside a well where the water gushes forth from the earth, a symbol of new life in many cultures, and reflect. (Read more.)

More about Holy Wells, HERE.