![\"Fairy](\"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ireland-faery-tree.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In 1999, when Ireland was upgrading its national freeway system linking Limerick and Galway, a \u00a3100 million highway bypass was planned five miles north of Shannon airport to bypass Newmarket-on-Fergus and Ennis. But there was problem. A fairy tree was in the way.<\/p>\n
The Hawthorn bush, according to local legend, was especially significant to the Daoine Sidhe<\/em> (Fairies). It was feared that if the tree were damaged, the fair folk might take revenge not only on construction workers but also on motorists driving through. Ultimately, the county engineer, Mr Tom Carey, found a work-around, incorporating the fairy bush into the landscaping of the bypass, so it would not be affected by any earth-moving.<\/p>\n Although there are fairy trees all around Ireland, some of the most famous ones are located near ancient holy sites, such as St. Brigid\u2019s Well in County Kildare.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brigid, in Irish mythology, was the goddess of fire, poetry, childbirth and healing. At her holy well, some visitors will dip a piece of cloth, known as a clootie, into the water, wash themselves with it, and then tie the rag to a nearby tree. Just be careful not to disturb the fairy tree. It is believed you may be granted good luck for being respectful.<\/p>\n Close by St. Brigid\u2019s Well is another place associated with good luck. It is a wishing stone alongside St. Brigid\u2019s Cathedral. Tradition holds that good fortune may be granted to people who make a wish while putting their arms through the hole in the stone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Saint Brigid\u2019s Well and Cathedral area is just one of the many picturesque stops in our \u201cEnchanted Ireland\u201d tour April 29 \u2013 May 8, 2023<\/strong>. This small group will also visit\u2026<\/p>\n Co-hosting the tour will be the renowned storyteller and practicing Druid Eimear Burke<\/strong>, and Jack Roberts<\/strong>, author of several books on Irish history and traditions. If you want to know more about the “wee folk,” Eimear and Jack will be there to answer your questions.<\/p>\n Click Here For Enchanted Ireland Tour Details<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Photo credits: In 1999, when Ireland was upgrading its national freeway system linking Limerick and Galway, a \u00a3100 million highway bypass was planned five miles north of Shannon airport to bypass Newmarket-on-Fergus and Ennis. But there was problem. A fairy tree was in the way. The Hawthorn bush, according to local legend, was especially significant to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[413],"tags":[489],"class_list":{"0":"post-1285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-europe-tours","7":"tag-ireland-tour","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1289,"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285\/revisions\/1289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Saint](\"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ireland-saint-brigids-well.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"St.](\"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ireland-st-brigids-tower.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSmall Group Tour of Enchanted Ireland<\/h2>\n
\n
\nFairy tree image courtesy of http:\/\/www.irelandinpicture.net\/<\/a>
\nSaint Brigid\u2019s Well by: Andreas F. Borchert<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"