Now we will leave the pirates for a little while but
we will return. However, here’s something a wee bit different.
Irish
Caves.
Folklore
traditions reveal that caves were seen as places of ghosts and ghouls, gateways
to the Otherworld or a home for a supernatural woman that preyed on mortal
men.
With uses
varying from burial chambers to places to live, caves in Ireland have a diverse
history and usage. People have been using caves around Ireland for almost
10,000 years. In the 19th and 20th centuries, some
were documented by antiquarians looking for bones of extinct animals such as
woolly mammoth, bears and Arctic lemmings. They also turned up human
bones and artifact’s many of archaeological significance. More recently,
cavers have discovered and explored caves all over the country. These
caves open up for us a cultural, religious and physical history dating back
through prehistoric, medieval and modern times.’
Evidence
indicates that for about 8,000 years, caves were used mostly for religious
activities. These deep dark, often sacred, places were associated with
death and the ‘Otherworld’. They were used for excarnation, where a
corpse was left to fully decompose prior to the bones being removed for
burial. Often small bones and beads were left behind, to be found
thousands of years later. Caves were also used for burial, with extensive finds
already documented in Co Waterford.
During
the Bronze Age, caves were used for burying high ranking individuals. In
1805, a skeleton covered in small sheets of gold was discovered in a cave in Co
Cork. Burial traditions with offerings continued into the Iron Age. At
caves in Co Sligo, human teeth were placed in the caves, possibly associated
with the annual harvest festival of Lughnasadh.
The coming
of Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century AD saw major changes
in how caves were used and perceived. For the first time, there was extensive
occupation of caves, as they became home to individuals, possibly travelling labourers or craft workers. It’s
likely that the association between caves and death and the Otherworld was
largely destroyed by the Church.
Anyway here follows an
old Irish story about a cave in County Kerry. Love, betrayal, and vengeance.
The Cave of the Seven
Sisters:
The origin of the
following story is to be found in the small village of Ballybunion a few miles
from Kerry Head. The cliffs rise up from the sea to heights well over a hundred
feet and these are peppered with caves into which the sea rushes with a terrible
fury in winter. This coast line is open
to the full force of the Atlantic storms and it’s not unusual to find the dead
bodies of various unfortunate creatures washed up on the shore.
On the edge of one of
these cliffs there stands the ruin of a castle. All that remains of it now is
the basement standing against the force of the wind and waves like some lonely
sentinel. It’s here that we begin our story.
According to local legend,
once upon a time this castle was the home of a chieftain. It was around about
the time when Ireland was under constant threat of attack and invasion by the
Vikings. The Chieftain was the father of
seven beautiful daughters, and as any father will tell you he had his hands
full what with defending his daughter’s honour and fighting off marauding
Vikings. The poor man seemed to always have a sword in his hand
He was a brave warrior
with a great hatred for these invaders from the sea and he swore he would kill
every last one of those who would invade his land. Night and day his ships patrolled the coast
watching for any sign of the pirate Vikings who might threaten his people.
One day a sail was spotted
in the distance and as it came nearer the chieftain saw that the vessel
displayed the standard of a Viking marauder. Immediately it was surrounded by
the Irish ships and despite putting up a fierce fight it was captured. As was
the custom of the chieftain, he had the crew that had survived the initial
attack killed and thrown overboard with the exception of the captain and his
six brothers as he had a special more painful death planned for them.
They were brought to the
castle and there they had their wounds dressed and as they had no way to escape
they were allowed freedom within the castle walls. Of course the seven captured men soon spotted
the seven beautiful Irish maidens and as they were starved of male affection
the beautiful Kerry maidens soon fell under the spell of the Vikings who were
prancing around like male models with their long blonde hair and rippling six
packs and they agreed to aid their escape and run off with them to their Viking
homeland.
All was set, it was a stormy night in winter,
and there wasn’t a star in the sky. A cold wind blew in from the sea bringing
with it a torrential rain so all the guards were sheltering under cover; the
waves could be heard crashing against the rocks and caves below. Using a rope ladder the girls had fashioned
from old jumpers and smelly socks they all escaped over the battlements and
down to the ground 100feet below. However, when they had all descended to their
horror they were surrounded by armed men who had been hiding amongst the rocks.
It was a huge surprise,
how on earth did they know. I mean fourteen people climbing down a ladder made
from smelly socks and jumpers, standing on each other’s heads and shouting
things like
“Stop looking up me skirt”
and “Stop standing on me head”,
How were they caught, well
to this day it’s a mystery, anyway back to the story.
No one said a word, they
knew it was hopeless for it was obvious who these armed men were. Taken back into the castle they came face to
face with the chieftain. With a look of
anger and hatred he pointed to his seven daughters and gave a command to his
captain of the guard. The man recoiled in disbelief his face had a look of
horror, recovering, he whispered in the ear of his chieftain but the face of
the chieftain told all there that his order would not be changed and with a
look of hatred he repeated the order turned to the door and stormed out of the
room without a backward glance.
Now we come to a fearful
scene. The lovers were wrenched from each other’s arms and the daughters were
dragged forward. The storm had grown more violent and the waves were crashing
against the rocks. Sea spray was carried
over the top of the castle walls; lightning flashed and by its light a scene of
pure horror was illuminated. Dragging
the women along the edge of the precipice the chieftains men came to a hole
which resembled the crater of a volcano as it was completely closed with the
exception of the opening at the top and a hole below through which the sea
rushed in with terrific force and violence. The roaring of the sea was fearful
and the lightning flashed and it was now that the seven sisters realised their
fate. There would be no escape,
screaming and begging for mercy they were hurled into the boiling seas. Their father’s orders carried out.
What happened to the seven
Vikings isn’t known, this story isn’t for them.
Eventually, over time the castle fell into ruin. As for the chieftain,
well he sleeps in an unknown grave his name forgotten, but the legend of The
Seven Sisters remains. The cave is now
known locally as The Cave of The Seven Sisters.
If you stand on the seashore on a stormy night you may see the outline
of a ghost ship in the distance as seven lovers search the waves. You may even hear
the screams of the seven sisters as you look out over the seas. Or could it
just be the sound of seagulls. I’ll let you decide.
Hope you enjoyed the
tale.
By the way did you know
that some Etymologists
trace the word Viking to Anglo-Frankish writers, who referred to Vikings as those
who came from the sea to raid and pillage.
So we didn’t get away from the pirate theme after all.
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