An Irish Wood - Dooney Rock Forest Park

County Sligo is Yeats' Country in Ireland. It is a place of epic legends and landscapes that inspired the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. In Sligo you will find many places that feature in the poetry of Yeats including Dooney Rock Forest Park which we just happened upon while driving a ring around Lough Gill where you'll also find Benbulben and Glencar Waterfall. Dooney Rock features in Yeats' poem "The Fiddler of Dooney" and Dooney Rock is an elevated part of the wood from which you can see sweeping views of Lough Gill, the Ox Mountains and Knocknarea Mountain. Look carefully atop Knocknarea and you can see "a huge flat-topped cairn called Maeve's Cairn (Miosgan Meadhbha). The cairn is 55m in diameter and is 10m high. It was supposed to have been built for Queen Maeve, the Iron Age Queen of Connaught (source)."  You can see why Sligo and this atmospheric woodland inspired Yeats and I always find it quite special to find places that connect to history in such a way. The woodland itself was stunning. Occasional trees were labeled with their species. The forest was mainly one species of coniferous tree (though I cannot recall which) which made for a striking fairy tale atmosphere, with moss creeping up each tree and a lovely filtered light. There were benches around to sit a spell and soak in the forest.  

FIDDLER OF DOONEY

W.B. Yeats - 1889

WHEN I play on my fiddle in Dooney.

Folk dance like a wave of the sea;

My cousin is priest in Kilvarnet,

My brother in Mocharabuiee.

I passed my brother and cousin:

They read in their books of prayer;

I read in my book of songs

I bought at the Sligo fair.

When we come at the end of time

To Peter sitting in state,

He will smile on the three old spirits,

But call me first through the gate;

For the good are always the merry,

Save by an evil chance,

And the merry love the fiddle,

And the merry love to dance:

And when the folk there spy me,

They will all come up to me,

With "Here is the fiddler of Dooney!"

And dance like a wave of the sea.

What appeared to be an old stone foundation or rock wall. 

Queen Maeve's Cairn atop the flat topped Knocknarea in the distance. 

August in a Sun-Dappled Wood

I went into a hazel wood, 

Because a fire was in my head

- William Butler Yeats

Contents: 5x7 Print of Beech Tree, 4x6 Print of Torc Waterfall, Hazel Botanical Card, Fern Bookmark, Decorated Yeats' Poem "Song of Wandering Aengus," sorry leaves not included. 

The August Issue of Emerald Post is inspired by the wild woods of Celtic Lands, the reverence that ancient people held for trees, and the liminal, mystical magic of woodland and an enchanting poem by Ireland's own William Butler Yeats. A walk through a sun dappled wood delivered right to your mailbox. Cool your feet at the base of Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park, Ireland. Marvel up at a towering beech tree in Tollymore Forest Park, Northern Ireland. Stoop to trace the details of a fern on the forest floor and learn of the lore of the Hazel Tree. Hear the verses of W.B. Yeats on the wind and as the forest canopy sways above you.  Send a woodland walk to a friend of take one for yourself HERE.

My Irish Library

Here is just one of my Irish nooks - this one full of books. Especially near this time of year, I peruse my growing collection of books about or related to Ireland & its culture & history (the prettier ones make good St. Patrick's Day décor). Some of these I picked up on my travels, others I bought to prepare for journeys. Some of the more obscure or out-of-print ones seem to find me at a giant, semi-annual used book sale that I love to scour. My tastes tend toward Irish myth & legend, poetry, and ancient & Medieval history. This shelve is tidied up a bit for you all but many trinkets and knickknacks (i.e. coins, rocks, shells) are usually found strewn about here. I haven't written up a list of this collection but feel free to inquire about anything you see (or can't quite see). Happy Reading.