Rothar Routes

Cycle routes & pilgrim journeys in Ireland and Europe …..

Archive for ‘June, 2024’

Carlow Castles & Rathanna Village Day!

What a glorious day for the bike! We are fortunate to have the network of local roads that we have – I cycled to Rathanna and back today, 73kms of tiny bóithríns devoid of traffic, the sun was shining and Carlow was looking marvellous! My route took me out through Nurney, across by Augha and behind Dunleckney, out to Ballaghmoon Castle in the above photo, situated at the moment in the centre of a lovely wildflower meadow.

It’s a Castle steeped in mystery; no one quite knows it purpose. This 14th century Castle is more like a large compound. It has massive 8 foot thick walls, 20 foot high with a large internal courtyard. There are great views through a broken window towards Mount Leinster.

Not much more than a puck of a ball away is the 13th century Ballyloughan Castle, near Corries Cross. This must have been a very impressive site in its heyday with its entrance flanked by two impressive towers. Only a small part of this structure remains today and unfortunately there is no public access.

Placenames are so important; the original Irish versions tell so much about an area. I still have my Father’s copy of ‘Place Names of County Carlow’ by Edward O Toole and I was always fascinated by the names and the sounds:

Coolnacuppogue = Cúl na g-Cupóg = ‘Back of the Hill of the Dock Leaves’! Civil Parish ‘Sliguff’, Barony ‘Idrone East’. Here’s the signpost I passed today:

It was a lovely spin along tiny winding lanes, free of traffic, sheep munching on the plentiful grass of the ‘Long Mile’, stunning views of Mount Leinster and the Blackstairs as I wove my way past Knocksquire and Rosdellig into one of our best kept secrets, the tiny village of Rathanna, where there was an almighty crowd gathered for the Rathanna Village Day. There was a massive vintage tractor display. fun and games, stalls, music and Wexford Mummers performing. It was my first time to see the Mummers live; it’s an ancient tradition, hanging on in rural Wexford and they put on a great show that captured a lot of interest from young and old alike. Just as I experienced on the Camino del Cid in Spain, it’s so nice and important to see culture promoted, valued and enjoyed. It was great to also see stalls promoting local artists, whether artists, potters, silversmiths or sculptors and promoting Drummin Raised Bog near St Mullins and concerns about commercial developments on the Blackstairs Mountains – critically important areas – both locally and nationally of biodiversity. I was struck by the huge biodiversity I experienced on my recent #CaminodelCid cycle in Spain – we are not doing enough to protect these areas!

Spanish tradition of Corpus Christi Floral Tapestries

Spain is a country that proudly celebrates its cultures and traditions. It’s Easter processions have morphed into major tourist attractions that are so popular that it’s very expensive to book a flight to Spain at that time of year! This celebration of culture takes many forms and there are some really unique expressions of that show the country in its best light.

I’ve seen these floral tributes in the smallest of villages and in big cities while doing the Camino Santiago in the past, but this was the first time I’ve seen how they make the ‘Alfombras florales’ (floral carpets or tapestries). This was in the beautiful historic city of Sigüenza.

The tapestries are quite large and elaborate and they can take up entire streets; first the designs are drawn on the road with chalk or soil. Then thousands of flower petals, that have been meticulously collected, are placed into the designs. Leaves, grass, seeds, soil and other plant based materials are also used to form these incredible vivid and colourful images. Rose petals, irises, pine and sage are commonly used.

Teams of people, young and old, are involved and the creation can take a couple of days to complete. Barriers are erected around the creations to protect them during the process and sometimes plastic tunnels and coverings protect them from the weather. Water is sprinkled on the finished designs to them in place and to kept the flowers fresh and avoid withering in the heat of the day.

The team of alfombristas can work through the night to complete the designs on the morning of Corpus Christi. After Mass in the local Church, the Bishop or Priest leads a long procession through the streets carrying the Eucharist in an elaborate Monstrance. Incredibly the Procession walks over the displays, destroying these beautiful creations and this has its roots in the Bible:

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit”.

John 12:24

Which basically means that the beautiful floral designs and the dedicated labour of creating them were all in the service of something much greater and the temporal nature of these designs are a large part of what makes them special!

This feast day is widely celebrated across Spain and indeed other countries also practice this beautiful tradition of floral carpets.