About a mile’s walk down the country lane from where we were staying was the hamlet of Tomhaggard. On today’s main road is the 1813 Catholic church of St. Anne’s, in use today. Very close by are two previous churches on either side of the back entrance to town, one is 5th century and one 13th century. The first is set in a beautiful landscaped park maintained by townspeople, and the ruins of the second have become a graveyard.
The earliest place of worship, the 5th century Celtic church, stands above a sacred grotto in a lush (even in December) peaceful park. It is a small, windowless, dirt-floored room. It’s very simplicity is the perfect setting for life-sized figures of Mary and Joseph, which at Christmastime worship the baby Jesus in a setting probably very like the stable where Jesus was born.
Below, by the grotto, there are benches to sit on while the water from the two springs, dedicated to St. Anne and St. James, flows down channels on either side.
Across the lane is a hill with the ruins of the 13th century church at the top, surrounded by both the ancient and modern graves of families from the surrounding area. The graves are packed in, even inside the ruins of the church, the older ones pushing upwards at odd angles or lying flat.
England having ruled Ireland for so long, whenever England was in religious turmoil Ireland was as well, with the English landlords trying to convert Catholics to Protestants, by force if necessary. There is a monument to those who lost their lives in those fights as well as a monument to those who fought for freedom from England. One of the graves in the ruins is of a priest who was murdered in the church. At the far end of the little park is a monument to the many fishermen who set off from that coast but never returned.
TO BE CONTINUED
