Our Heart in Ireland, Pt. 1
Ten years ago, 30 September 2008…
It was a beautiful morning in Western Ireland, as we made our way from Clifden up to the Connemara National Park. We were excited to walk through the bogland and hike the almost 1300 feet up to the tallest peak in the park. The sky was blue and the sun was shining, but those things don’t tend to last long in this part of Ireland. The weather can change drastically without much warning.
We were driving the N59 road up towards the little town of Letterfrack and the park as we passed by an inlet from the sea that came up between the hillsides almost to the road. As we looked out over the water, something caught our eye on the shore. There was a little grotto built into one of the small hills overlooking the water. It was still pretty early in the day so we decided to find a spot to pull over and check it out!
There was a little worn path that made a circle through the wooded area by the sea. At the base of the hill were a number of religious statues, most notably Padre Pio and a Virgin Mary in the rocks, with a spot for candles and a padded kneeler for prayers. Following the trail up the hill led you through the stations of the cross, each in little frames on little plaques arranged up the hillside, ending in a stone stairway leading back to the Mary statue. We followed the trail up, looking at the plaques and the way they fit in well with the surrounding nature. From the top was a great view over the pier and the boats awaiting the tide. It was a truly beautiful place!
We made our way toward the stone stairway to go back down when we found a wooden box with a couple doors sitting at the top of the stairs. Inside the box were lots of little offerings left by people who had visited over the years – a bust of Padre Pio and little trinkets they must have had with them when they visited, and some even left little pine cones or things they found in the grotto... but mostly there were little pieces of paper with handwritten memories, thoughts, or request for prayers, all left by people who were touched by the place. We had to be careful with the open doors, as the wind rushed in and the papers almost flew out!
We left the grotto and made our way to Connemara National Park. We began our hike along the trail, through the bogs, past little streams, and up the rocky hillside. About halfway to the top, Beth stopped to pick something up. She found a rock shaped just like a heart.
Beth collects heart-shaped rocks. Not ones that were cut or bought, but rather ones she found that were shaped that way naturally. Some she keeps in jars at home, but most she brings to make into her jewelry. The rock she was holding on the hillside was a nice rock, but a little too big to keep in the jar, and much too big for a piece of jewelry! Still, we hated to just throw it down, considering the biggest heart rock was found on our honeymoon.
Then we had an idea...
Back in that little grotto on the edge of the sea, people had left offerings and messages in that box. Opening the doors would rush the wind in and the papers would blow around and almost get lost. We could write our own message celebrating our wedding on the heart rock, leaving behind a practical paperweight that is also a piece of ourselves. We put the rock in our pack and kept hiking!
We made our way to the top, where we could see out pretty far, from the spot we started our hike to Kylemore Abbey and even down to the sea. We could also see the storm clouds rolling in quickly, and felt the temperature drop too. It was time to get going! Back down the mountain, we hiked to the car. But instead of heading on to Kylemore as planned, we went back through Letterfrack to that little grotto.
Beth wrote a message on the stone with our wedding date and the date today, and we put it in that little box in the grotto where it can sit in this holy pace and infuse with all that lucky Irish energy, and hopefully pass along that fortune to us!
