CAILLEACH BÉARA
AN CAILLEACH BÉARA
The hag is often called the "cailleach Béara" the witch from Bere.( The Labbacallee lines go through Bere island) Some folk would say that the cailleach means "the veiled" one from Bere. Certainly, when I was a little girl, I remember a few old women around Bandon who used to wear a black, hoody, long, coat shawl that covered and veiled everything except the face! Perhaps the hag dressed like them.
THE HAG OF BERE
The stone you see in the photo is called the "Hag of Bere" and it overlooks Coulagh Bay on the Bere Peninsula. Depending on which legend you listen to, the rock is the fossilized face of the hag as she gazes eternally out to sea, waiting for her beloved husband Mananann Mac Lir, the sea god! Alternatively, she might be the hag who stole a bible and got a crack from the staff of Craoithainn which turned her into a pillar of stone. Take your pick!! But take care, don't leave any of your bits and pieces at her stone, or bad luck will befall you!!
,
http://www.voicesfromthedawn.com/loughcrew/
An Cailleach Bhéara acted as an Earth Mother, a supernatural figure who was a fundamental “creator and presider over the landscape.”19 In addition to dropping cairns on mountaintops, she also was responsible for placing large boulders in rivers, and sculpting rock formations on hillsides. Her geotectonic powers extended to creating islands in the seas, and transforming lakes into mountains. For An Cailleach Bhéara, her longevity evokes a sense of awe, but also a sadness stemming from the fragility of old age.
http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/
Patricia Monaghan in "The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, “Cailleach”." had this to write about Cailleach: “Her name, pronounced correctly, sounds like clearing her throat, but ‘coyluck’ is a near approximation. One of the world’s Great Goddesses, She went by many names: Cailleach Bheur or Carlin in Scotland; Cally Berry in northern Ireland; Cailleach ny Groamch on the Isle of Man; Black Annis in Britain; the Hag of Beare or Digne in Ireland. She was vastly ancient; the Irish Triads say: ‘The three great ages: the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Hag of Beare.’ She could endlessly renew Her youth. All the men She loved – and they were countless – died of old age as She went on, returning to the prime of life, finding another pretty young one with whom to share youth
She had one eye in the middle of a blue-black face, an eye of preternatural keenness. She had red teeth and matted hair ‘white as an apron covered with hoarfrost.’ Over it She wore a kerchief and over Her gray clothing, a faded plaid shawl. She owned a farm and hired workers for six months with the stipulation that none would be paid who could not outwork Her. Looking at the hunched old thing, many a man fell for the trick and paid with his life, dying of overwork while trying to keep the pace She set. So strong was She that She carried boulders in Her apron; the ones She dropped became mountain ranges.
She controlled the season and the weather; She was the cosmic Goddess of earth and sky, moon and sun. Because She does not appear in the written myths of Ireland and Scotland, but only in ancient tales and place names, it is presumed that She was the Goddess of the pre-Celtic settlers of the islands off Europe. She was so powerful and beloved that even when newcomers imported their own divinities, the Cailleach was remembered” (p. 77 – 78).
The hag is often called the "cailleach Béara" the witch from Bere.( The Labbacallee lines go through Bere island) Some folk would say that the cailleach means "the veiled" one from Bere. Certainly, when I was a little girl, I remember a few old women around Bandon who used to wear a black, hoody, long, coat shawl that covered and veiled everything except the face! Perhaps the hag dressed like them.
THE HAG OF BERE
The stone you see in the photo is called the "Hag of Bere" and it overlooks Coulagh Bay on the Bere Peninsula. Depending on which legend you listen to, the rock is the fossilized face of the hag as she gazes eternally out to sea, waiting for her beloved husband Mananann Mac Lir, the sea god! Alternatively, she might be the hag who stole a bible and got a crack from the staff of Craoithainn which turned her into a pillar of stone. Take your pick!! But take care, don't leave any of your bits and pieces at her stone, or bad luck will befall you!!
,
http://www.voicesfromthedawn.com/loughcrew/
An Cailleach Bhéara acted as an Earth Mother, a supernatural figure who was a fundamental “creator and presider over the landscape.”19 In addition to dropping cairns on mountaintops, she also was responsible for placing large boulders in rivers, and sculpting rock formations on hillsides. Her geotectonic powers extended to creating islands in the seas, and transforming lakes into mountains. For An Cailleach Bhéara, her longevity evokes a sense of awe, but also a sadness stemming from the fragility of old age.
http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/
Patricia Monaghan in "The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, “Cailleach”." had this to write about Cailleach: “Her name, pronounced correctly, sounds like clearing her throat, but ‘coyluck’ is a near approximation. One of the world’s Great Goddesses, She went by many names: Cailleach Bheur or Carlin in Scotland; Cally Berry in northern Ireland; Cailleach ny Groamch on the Isle of Man; Black Annis in Britain; the Hag of Beare or Digne in Ireland. She was vastly ancient; the Irish Triads say: ‘The three great ages: the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Hag of Beare.’ She could endlessly renew Her youth. All the men She loved – and they were countless – died of old age as She went on, returning to the prime of life, finding another pretty young one with whom to share youth
She had one eye in the middle of a blue-black face, an eye of preternatural keenness. She had red teeth and matted hair ‘white as an apron covered with hoarfrost.’ Over it She wore a kerchief and over Her gray clothing, a faded plaid shawl. She owned a farm and hired workers for six months with the stipulation that none would be paid who could not outwork Her. Looking at the hunched old thing, many a man fell for the trick and paid with his life, dying of overwork while trying to keep the pace She set. So strong was She that She carried boulders in Her apron; the ones She dropped became mountain ranges.
She controlled the season and the weather; She was the cosmic Goddess of earth and sky, moon and sun. Because She does not appear in the written myths of Ireland and Scotland, but only in ancient tales and place names, it is presumed that She was the Goddess of the pre-Celtic settlers of the islands off Europe. She was so powerful and beloved that even when newcomers imported their own divinities, the Cailleach was remembered” (p. 77 – 78).
Legends of An Cailleach Bhéara are not unique to the Loughcrew Hills. She also figures prominently in the folklore of the passage tomb on the summit of Slieve Gullion, 64 k (40 mi) to the northeast in Co. Armagh. The Hag of Beare stories originated in the Beara Peninsula of Co. Cork, where, at Coulagh Bay, a natural rock is pointed out as her petrified face. Also in Co. Cork the Labbacallee Wedge Tomb is said to be her burial site. As a sovereignty queen, she was given the personal names of Buí, or Digdi. In a very real sense, An Cailleach Bhéara acted as an Earth Mother, a supernatural figure who was a fundamental “creator and presider over the landscape.”19 In addition to dropping cairns on mountaintops, she also was responsible for placing large boulders in rivers, and sculpting rock formations on hillsides. Her geotectonic powers extended to creating islands in the seas, and transforming lakes into mountains. For An Cailleach Bhéara, her longevity evokes a sense of awe, but also a sadness stemming from the fragility of old age