BSW3 6. Disert graveyard
Nov 04, 2021, 06:30 PM
Speaker: John McGroary
From the Bluestack Way Part 3 playlist.
Directions
Come down the brae and at the bottom of it turn left where you'll see the sign for Disert graveyard, going past sheep gates. There's a well worn path to get to the site and more signage.
Hermitage
Diseart is the Gaelic word for Hermitage. After St. Patrick brought the Christian faith to Ireland in A.D. 432, it became a custom for men and women to go to remote places to pray and do penance alone and away from the lures and temptations of worldly matters. Between two heaps of small stones and beside a thorn bush there’s a holy well called Tobar Cholmcille (Colmcille’s Well). There’s no evidence even in folklore of when the custom of doing the turas started, but probably early in the sixth century. It is believed that St. Colmcille blessed the well and that the water in it cured toothache and other illnesses. Pilgrims doing the Turas had to say three Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Be’s at the well followed by fifteen decades of the Rosary, while walking around three heaps of stones near the altar, three times around each heap and throwing a small stone on the heaps each time. The water from the well is taken home and rubbed on the offending aches and pains.
There is a large flat topped rock near the well presumed to be the altar where mass was offered. On the altar there’s a round stone with a hole in the centre. It is said that St. Colmcille looked through the hole and blessed the surrounding area visible to him through the stone. It is believed that this stone was used as a candle holder during Mass and that there were two but one has been lost. Not far from the Altar rock stand two leaning flagstones about 2.5 feet or 3 feet high with one horizontal flag stone placed across at the top of them, dolmen-like. A pilgrim suffering from back ache had to squeeze through between the erect stones, touching them with his back. Cures are known to have happened in this way. To get rid of an eye ailment, the pilgrim looked through the stone that sits on the altar. The holy well is situated in the centre of the field in a hollow.
In times past, people came from far off places to do the Turas. They used to erect tents and remain there longer than necessary. Some of them brought uisce beatha, got drunk, fought and behaved badly. The graveyard was closed and access forbidden to outsiders. Local people kept up the custom however and the method of doing the Turas is still known, exactly the same as from its foundation.
In the 20th century, it is known that unbaptised babies were buried there as they were not allowed to be buried in consecrated ground. This probably came down the years from the Monastic system in Ireland which was both rigid and severe. The last person to be buried there was Paddy Neill Ruaire O’Donnell over 100 years ago. The graveyard is now covered with bracken, briars rushes and weeds leaving any traces of by-gone days invisible as you'll see from our video.
Mention must be made of the Diseart clay (creafog dhibirte) which is famous far and wide for its ability to banish rats. A local who inherits the gift from his ancestors must take up the clay for the recipient. With only a handful of residents now, this is easier said than done. It is believed that the clay was blessed by St. Colmcille and enjoys the same banishing power of the clay he blessed on Tory Island and Gartan.
In our audio piece, John gives a comprehensive description of the customs that occurred in this sacred site.
From the Bluestack Way Part 3 playlist.
Directions
Come down the brae and at the bottom of it turn left where you'll see the sign for Disert graveyard, going past sheep gates. There's a well worn path to get to the site and more signage.
Hermitage
Diseart is the Gaelic word for Hermitage. After St. Patrick brought the Christian faith to Ireland in A.D. 432, it became a custom for men and women to go to remote places to pray and do penance alone and away from the lures and temptations of worldly matters. Between two heaps of small stones and beside a thorn bush there’s a holy well called Tobar Cholmcille (Colmcille’s Well). There’s no evidence even in folklore of when the custom of doing the turas started, but probably early in the sixth century. It is believed that St. Colmcille blessed the well and that the water in it cured toothache and other illnesses. Pilgrims doing the Turas had to say three Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Be’s at the well followed by fifteen decades of the Rosary, while walking around three heaps of stones near the altar, three times around each heap and throwing a small stone on the heaps each time. The water from the well is taken home and rubbed on the offending aches and pains.
There is a large flat topped rock near the well presumed to be the altar where mass was offered. On the altar there’s a round stone with a hole in the centre. It is said that St. Colmcille looked through the hole and blessed the surrounding area visible to him through the stone. It is believed that this stone was used as a candle holder during Mass and that there were two but one has been lost. Not far from the Altar rock stand two leaning flagstones about 2.5 feet or 3 feet high with one horizontal flag stone placed across at the top of them, dolmen-like. A pilgrim suffering from back ache had to squeeze through between the erect stones, touching them with his back. Cures are known to have happened in this way. To get rid of an eye ailment, the pilgrim looked through the stone that sits on the altar. The holy well is situated in the centre of the field in a hollow.
In times past, people came from far off places to do the Turas. They used to erect tents and remain there longer than necessary. Some of them brought uisce beatha, got drunk, fought and behaved badly. The graveyard was closed and access forbidden to outsiders. Local people kept up the custom however and the method of doing the Turas is still known, exactly the same as from its foundation.
In the 20th century, it is known that unbaptised babies were buried there as they were not allowed to be buried in consecrated ground. This probably came down the years from the Monastic system in Ireland which was both rigid and severe. The last person to be buried there was Paddy Neill Ruaire O’Donnell over 100 years ago. The graveyard is now covered with bracken, briars rushes and weeds leaving any traces of by-gone days invisible as you'll see from our video.
Mention must be made of the Diseart clay (creafog dhibirte) which is famous far and wide for its ability to banish rats. A local who inherits the gift from his ancestors must take up the clay for the recipient. With only a handful of residents now, this is easier said than done. It is believed that the clay was blessed by St. Colmcille and enjoys the same banishing power of the clay he blessed on Tory Island and Gartan.
In our audio piece, John gives a comprehensive description of the customs that occurred in this sacred site.