Kilshanny is a ruin. "Kil" means church, like "Kirk" in Scotland.  There is a ruined church every few miles, 600AD, 800AD, 1200AD, 1500AD, take your pick. The ruins are built atop each other.  After the 1500's, there is a 400 year gap in ruined churches, but that is a long story.

A rook flies over the graveyard.  There are four species of corvus: Ravens, Rooks, Hooded Crows and Jackdaws, common everywhere.  Sometimes the different species share a tree. So,  there must be hope for peace in Ireland.



 

 We go in search of Saint Austin's Well, at least that is its new name, since Christian times.  We navigate with ordinance survey maps (1:50 000) and compass headings from distant mountains.  Some sites we find haven't been visited in years.  This road ends in a farmyard, but no well. 

"Through my yard." says the farmer, "stay close by the wall and cross over."  The lambs are uncertain, but the farmer is welcoming. 
 

There is always a tree growing through a sacred well.  So goes the myth,  and often, the reality. 

St. Austin's well is a peaceful place, as another soft, grey, overcast day grows darker. As always, robins, wrens, and blackbirds sing around these special places.
 
on to Kilnaboy and the Sheila-na-gig