The large old hawthorns, growing singly in a field or by an ancient
well, are considered very sacred; and no one would venture to cut them
down, for the fairies dance under the branches at night, and would
resent being interfered with.
There is a Holy Stone in an island of the Shannon, called St. Patrick’s
Stone. It is shadowed by an aged hawthorn, the perfume of which can be
scented far off on the mainland in the flowering season. At the top
of this stone is a large hollow, always filled with water by the rain
or the dew, which is kept from evaporation by the heavy shadows of
the branching hawthorn. It is believed that the water of this hollow
has great healing power, and sometimes when a patient is brought from
a distance, a rude stone shed is built under the tree, and there he
is laid till the cure is completed by the water of the Holy Stone. On
leaving he ties a votive offering to the tree, which is always covered
with these memorials of gratitude.
In autumn the people go to bewail the dead at St. Patrick’s Stone; and
the mournful Irish chant may be often heard rising up in the still
evening air with weird and solemn effect.