The Healing Hills of Clare

Set amidst rolling hills, mist clad lakes and vibrant valleys, the Healing Hills certainly have an enchanting and mystical appeal. This is because of the abundance of thin places found in these parts where this world and the otherworld meet.

Picture: portal tomb where the fairies hang out

If you’ve never been to East Clare and Southern Galway, then you’ll have a treat to discover, because there really is something special about this area. You’ll be enamoured with the serenity here, because it is a far cry from the raucous Irish tourist trail. Everyone that comes here comments on the tranquility and the special quality of the energy. It’s the perfect place to take some time out, to reflect, connect to nature and your own inner wisdom.

Before the Celts arrived, Ireland had been invaded by other races. The most significant were the Tuatha dé Danann (pronounced tu-ah-danan) who reigned over County Clare. They belong to the Aos Si (pronounced ees-she, the fairy people) in the Otherworld, whose world was reached through mists, hills, lakes, ponds, wetland areas, caves, ancient burial sites, cairns and mounds. The Tuatha Dé Danann had long lives and eternal youth, so the otherworld is also referred to as Tir na nOg, the Land of the Young.

Picture: aerial view of a fairy fort

Even the most staunch Catholic will not mess with the fairies in Ireland, for fear of their wrath. Some believe if you damage or cut down one of these trees you’ll be faced with a life of bad luck. Even motorways have been built to circumnavigate fairy trees. When traveling through Ireland you’ll often see a perfectly cultivated field and in the middle you’ll see an untouched fairy mound or even a single standing tree.

There is an old saying that, “the healers come from Clare.” The Healing Hills were home to one of Ireland’s most famous folk healers called Biddy Early.  Oral accounts of Biddy’s healing methods have been passed down by locals for many generations.

Biddy was born in 1798, into a poor farming family. It was after her second husband died that accounts of Biddy’s magical healing powers emerged. Biddy lived in a cottage high up on a mass of rock by the roadside. The waters of the well on her land were believed to have healing properties.

Picture: Biddy Early’s ruined cottage

Locals say that when Biddy was a girl she spent a lot of time talking to herself. This was because she befriended the fairies, who taught her about the healing properties of certain plants. She would visit places where the blackthorn trees grows or the nearby raths (a ring fort). In the area she was brought up in, there was an overgrown stone circle where people used to see faint lights dancing on certain nights of the year.

It was well known that she was gifted by the fairies and so people would come to her if they were under the wrath of them. She even turned people away that she said were “none of her business,” because their illness had not been dealt by the fairies. Stories passed down generations say that she had a little blue glass bottle used for divining. When people came to her for healing, it is said that she would shake the bottle up and look into it to find out what was wrong with them and how to cure them.

Biddy had a good knowledge of herbalism, she grew many healing herbs on her land and prescribed cures with them. She didn’t receive money but often had food, whiskey or Irish moonshine which is called poitín (pronounced potcheen) donated to her. If you visit a fairy location in Ireland it is common practice to leave poitín and cheese for them.

You can visit the land where she lived, but tune in to ask permission to enter. The land is very overgrown so be careful. It is a magical place, you won’t be disappointed if you pick up on the energies here. If you visit, be respectful not only of the land but also of where you park. You need to find a safe location and not block anyones drive to avoid the wrath of locals, which can be as severe as the wee folk! Her land has been for sale for many years and thankfully not sold, the land is meant to be left alone.

When coming to areas like this in Ireland, you cannot help but be indelibly moved by the myths of the fairy people, igniting your imagination about what the otherworld is like and… which takes you away with the fairies.

Picture: modern day fairy in the Woodpark Forest Fairy Trail in East Clare

East Clare borders Galway to north and Limerick to the south. The main hub is Scarriff and the pretty medieval town Killaloe.

Googlemaps. To find Biddy Early’s cottage you can either approach from north on the R468 from Feakle or from the south turning off the main road between Tuamgraney and Ennis.

Read more about this area in the Conscious Guide to the Healing Hills of Clare and Galway, available on Kindle.