On forgotten walls of country churches or crumbling castles throughout Ireland, the tiny figures squat unseen.
Lost in gray brickwork, obscured by ivy or moss, Sheela-na-gig stone carvings can be hard to spot in the wild but these medieval creations are in no way coy.
Typically bald-headed naked females, with hanging breasts and legs spread wide to display exaggerated vulvas, Sheela-na-gigs at first seem peculiarly out of place in the prim surroundings of a Christian church.
However, these envoys from an ancient past have a lot to teach us about Irish and northern European history, and about the pagan roots of the global festival now known as St. Patrick’s Day.
Maureen O Hare, illustrations by Sarah-Grace Mankarious, CNN • Updated 16th March 2021
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(CNN) On forgotten walls of country churches or crumbling castles throughout Ireland, the tiny figures squat unseen.
Lost in gray brickwork, obscured by ivy or moss, Sheela-na-gig stone carvings can be hard to spot in the wild but these medieval creations are in no way coy.
Typically bald-headed naked females, with hanging breasts and legs spread wide to display exaggerated vulvas, Sheela-na-gigs at first seem peculiarly out of place in the prim surroundings of a Christian church.
However, these envoys from an ancient past have a lot to teach us about Irish and northern European history, and about the pagan roots of the global festival now known as St. Patrick s Day.
No danger of St Patrick s sainthood being rescinded despite the tall tails nugget.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nugget.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Those digging up Irish keepsakes for St Patrick’s Day this Wednesday should keep their eye out for anything that could be valuable. A rare Irish memento could make you tens or hundreds of thousands while a masterpiece by an Irish painter could turn you into a millionaire.
Even the most unlikely of items could make you a windfall so be careful what you discard. Here are ten things worth watching out for when gathering together any Irish mementoes.
PENAL CROSSES
You may have some small old wooden crucifixes lying around your home which could be worth a few grand. Penal crosses are small crosses from the eighteenth century which Irish people and priests hid during the penal days. The crosses were often bought by those making a pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory on Lough Derg. They were carved in yew wood with the figure of Christ and other symbols on the front and the date often on the reverse. You can typically fetch up to between €2,000 and €3,000 for a penal cross thou
The Snakes Of Ireland mymotherlode.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mymotherlode.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.