Seir Kieran, Clareen 2021 

Hi, will there be third part to the “Story of the Bogs” series ?

Dr. Denis Shine starts off by asserting that Seir Kieran has a pre-Christian pagan origin/foundation, but there's absolutely no evidence for this in any source, and much evidence points to it having a distinctly Christian origin/foundation. The idea that the only way for people to accept Christianity was to repacking their existing pagan beliefs cannot be taken seriously: First, because the hagiography of St. Ciaran definitively asserts that it was a new Christian foundation with no pagan origin whatsoever. Nothing was here before St. Ciaran set up his hermitage. Secondly, because St. Ciaran was a pre-patrician missionary bishop who undid paganism at every opportunity, according to the two surviving vitae. (Shine's syncretistic assertion that the only way for the locals to accept Christianity was by mingling it with paganism is entirely a modern presumption, and no evidence of that is found on this site, either archeologically, or in the literature. Syncretism is entirely against the ethos of Christianity, and there would be no good reason for conversion if it was just paganism dressed in Christian garb. Such a thing would never be acceptable.) Christianity and paganism do no mix, and especially not for the conversion period. Christianity was radically different, and the druids would have been against it. And thirdly, because this site is remote, and hitherto not connected to any ruling lineage or pagan cult before St. Ciaran's arrival. The name of the place is entirely connected to the spring which St. Patrick foretold St. Ciaran would find in the lonely wilds, where there was no one to help St. Ciaran found his monastery except a boar, a badger, a fox, and a wolf. Not even a druid was there. The existence of holy wells or holy trees is probably not something borrowed from paganism. We have no historical or archeological evidence to connect this site with pagan ritual activities. It seems to have been a new purposefully new site, unique to the new religion brought in by Ciaran, whenever he arrived. Shine starts off with a sweeping modern narrative generalization which immediately does injustice to the history of the site. Not a good way to start the thinking process by starting with a modern presumption. Academics must be very careful not to superimpose their own modern ideas onto the past. Otherwise, a great video of an extremely important site.

Ordo Cherball

The aerial photography of Seir Kieran and the surrounding landscape of Clareen captures the richness of the area which is steeped in history. The conservation and protection of this important monastic site is part of our unique Christian Heritage - the involvement of local children who are the future of our country will help raise awareness of our past and hopefully nourish it for future generations. This is a very special place close to the Slieve Bloom Mountains -

This looks so interesting, there's loads of archaeology out side the walls as well.