"figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva"

Whew, what a day! 

Pippin and I are on a road-trip. Yesterday, I started out in Athlone, and visited the sheela-na-gig in the museum there. 

The museum focuses on Athlone's history as a garrison on the Shannon, guarding the ford to the west of Ireland. (Ath=ford). Lots of school groups come through, and recently there was a program about the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage.

But I was there for the sheela-na-gig. The book pictured above says: 

"...thought to have originated from the nearby 12c Cluniac monastery of which not a trace now remains. The figure is carved in deep relief and is depicted with her arms embracing her tightly flexed legs and she has a very distinct striated pattern incised across the left cheek. (Island of the Sheela-na-Gigs" by Jack Roberts.)

While at the Athlone museum, I learned that the Catholic church across the street has four Harry Clarke windows. The Catholic Church is a criminal organization with a 2000 year history of harming women and children, and elevating compliant men. Beautiful art like this is how they trick you into thinking they work for god. 

Stealth photography.

Then we went north to Roscommon County Museum, to visit the Rahara sheela-na-gig.

People cleaning up the burial ground out side the ruined church at Rahara found this sheela-na-gig. It had fallen off the church and landed face down, and thereby was preserved.

"It is carved in low-relief, has quite large breasts and very pronounced nostril channels. Both arms are clearly shown reaching down beneath the widely splayed thighs." 

Selfie time.

Unlike sheelas in other museums, as you can see, this one isn't behind glass. The museum docents told me that women come to the museum to touch her if they want to get pregnant. Or maybe for other fertilities. 

In the afternoon, I visited some other places near Roscommon, but those visits were not sheela-related so I'll write about them someday. Late in the afternoon, I headed south toward Limerick, stopping at the sheela-na-gig in Taghboy. 

It was too dark to get a good picture of it, so you'll have to visit this page.  (That site contains descriptions of all of Ireland's sheela-na-gigs, with their locations.)

I spent the night in Limerick city. There are four sheela-na-gig's in Co. Limerick. One is at the Hunt Museum in Limerick city, the other three on the walls of Norman tower houses. 

First, I visited the sheela-na-gig at Dunaman, where a working dairy farm surrounds the tower-house ruin. 

"This is one of the largest and most overt sheela-na-gigs in Ireland as well as being one of the best preserved. She exhibits some very interesting details; the figure is set within a frame and has remarkably distinct ribbing on the chest area."

Then, on to the sheela-na-gig at Tullovin. Unfortunately, this one is only accessible to a photographer with a long lense. Here's someone else's photos. 

"The sheela-na-gig is on a quoin stone high up on the south face of the peel tower, which is dated to the late 15th century. It is a well-preserved figure, carved in handsome releif and depicted in a reclining position. Her left hand points to her head upon which is a strange and unusual headdress and her right hand reaches down behind her thigh to touch her pudenda." (ibid.)

Then I did some fun stuff in Bruff, and even more fun stuff at Lough Gur, which I may write about someday. It was after 4 pm when I arrived at the last sheela-na-gig at the Fantstown Tower house. 

Here's their website. 

Located East of Kilmallock, Co. Limerick and is owned by Ned Moloney who lives in the bungalow a few yards from the tower. The sheela is carved in false relief on an external quoin stone, facing North and inserted horizontally. The stonework is similar to the rest of the building and this suggests that it is an original feature of the tower. (16/17th Century)A tour of the inside reveals a very different approach to architechture and a trip up the stairs is really worthwhile.

Described thus:-long face with clear facial features, bald, jug ears, no breasts, slim body, skinny arms, both hands resting on thighs. Thin legs bent, feet turning outwards, large exaggerated vulva hanging between open legs. (link)

And then something amazing happened. Ned Maloney and his son were just coming out of that door there. I told them I was there to see their sheela-na-gig. It was nearly dark, but I could see it right away, but not photograph it. Then Ned invited me into the castle. We spent about an hour in there, and afterward I was invited in for tea. 

"This fine sheela-na-gig is carved on a quoin stone on the north face of the tower and is about 6 feet from the ground. Not easy to spot at first can be seen to be a classic figure with a large head, splayed hegs, hanging pudenda and hans folding the top of the legs." (ibid)

I asked Ned what he thought sheela-na-gigs were. He said that "sheela" is from an Italian word. Then he told the following theory, which I relate here in my own idiom: The Italians had fertility goddesses on their churches and they attracted pilgrims (ie customers). The early Christian monks of Ireland (c 500-700) thought that was effective branding, so they put the fertility symbols on their churches too. When the Normans came to Ireland (c 1100-1200) and built their tower houses, they took the fertility symbols off the old churches, which by that time were either ruined or not in the Norman style. Fertility of a ruling Norman family was a matter of political survival, as everyone knows who has seen Game of Thrones.

This is as good an explanation as any I have heard. 

I took notes on our conversation, and I'll probably write about it in another post. But here are a few photos of the inside of the castle. 

As you can see, we went up that narrow spiral staircase all the way to the top. Ned said that the castle has never been sold, always passed down through the families. This may be why it is in good shape, and its stones never quarried for other purposes. 

Thus ended the day that left Pippin in the state shown above. I never get tired of visiting sheela-na-gig. Last March, we were able to attend the Sheela-na-gig festival in Killanaboy. They held it the day after St. Patrick's Day, which is "St. Sheila's Day," his wife. I think that they are going to hold it again this year. I'll know soon.