The Bright Plain, Caitriona Dunnett, Michelle Dooley Mahon

The Bright Plain contains two short stories by Michelle Dooley Mahon; ‘The Deacon’ and ‘The Meadow of Women’, in which ritual devotions are placed in contemporary contexts. She writes of illness, suffering, devotion and healing with startling simplicity and a dose of humour. These are not metaphors or coincidences, but real events, requiring neither explanation nor justification. Alongside are toned cyanotype prints by Caitriona Dunnett of St Anne’s well, Lady’s Island and the surrounds of other wells in South Wexford; ethereal, uncanny images that conjure up the past or even the Otherworld, whilst also being here and now.

A reliable and clean source of water is essential for any community, so it is easy to understand how important wells were for pre-modern peoples. More complex is the mystical relationship humans have developed with these sites, which are imbued with a sacredness that predates Christianity. Holy Wells of Wexford and Pembrokeshire is a series of five chapbooks celebrating holy wells in two regions with common ancestry and history. Since at least the Bronze Age, sea travel between these two lands has meant cross fertilisation of traditions and common names associated with wells of both regions. Of significance is the long-standing friendship between two early Christian saints: David, who became the first Bishop of St Davids; and Aidan, born in Ireland, who spent time in Wales and then founded monasteries in Ireland, including at Ferns. In Oilgate, Wexford, there is a well dedicated to David and, at Whitesands near St Davids in Pembrokeshire, there is one named after Aidan. Each of the five books approaches the subject from different perspectives and mediums, including fiction, poetry and essays as well as photographs and prints.

Holy Wells of Wexford and Pembrokeshire is a series of five chapbooks commissioned by Ancient Connections, an EU funded arts, heritage and tourism project linking north Pembrokeshire with north Wexford led by Pembrokeshire County Council with partners Wexford County Council, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Visit Wexford. The series coincides with the launch of a new pilgrim route; Wexford-Pembrokeshire Pilgrim Way between Ferns in County Wexford and St Davids in Pembrokeshire. The holy wells explored in this series through fiction, essays, photographs, poetry and prints are all on or close to the new pilgrim route. 

Published by PARTHIAN
Softcover
46 pages
185 x 130 mm
ISBN 9781914595615