Facing Fear at Cave of the Cats in Western Ireland
by Elyn Aviva
;)
Even photos of the Cave of the Cats gave me the willies. I wasn’t going to enter it, not if you paid me. I was sure of that. My companions could go in if they wanted, but not me. We sloshed through the wet field to the entrance, a dark inverted triangle almost hidden by an overgrown thorn bush. A gash, a hole in Mother Earth. “No way,” I muttered, shaking my head. Jack, flashlight in hand, offered to go in first, and I watched him slither into the tight-fitting slit.
County Roscommon in western Ireland has a reputation for being boring, but it is anything but. The Rathcroghan complex has been a powerful place since the Neolithic, roughly 6000 years ago. It is an enigmatic landscape shrouded in myth, the burial place of long-forgotten heroes and the kings and queens of Connacht. It is one of the legendary “Celtic Royal Sites” of Ireland, ranking with the better-known Hill of Tara. Like Tara, Rathcroghan unites legend with history. It includes over 200 sites: ancient earthworks, tumuli, ceremonial avenues, ring forts, standing stones, the remains of a Druid school, holy wells, and caves. We’d come for the caves—one in particular, the Cave of the Cats.
Oweynagat (pronounced “Oween-ne-gat” or “UUvnaGOTCH”) or the Cave of the Cats is a spooky place, filled with powerful energies both of the earth and of the Otherworld. The Morrigan, Celtic goddess of death, destruction, and passion, is said to reside within. At Samhain (Halloween), frightening creatures are reported to issue forth from the interior, including female werewolves, malevolent birds and pigs, and a triple-headed monster. The tenth-century tale “Bricriu’s Feast” (Fled Bricrenn) recounts how three warriors, including Cúchulainn, were tested in the cave by terrifying cats, which suggests that the cave was used for warrior rites of passage.
The cave has been a ritual site for millennia, and spiritually focused groups, including Native Americans and Australian Aborigines, still seek it out. They go deep within and perform ceremonies, their drumming and chanting reverberating in the constricted space.
Several years ago my husband, Gary, and I tried to find the Cave of the Cats without success. Actually, we did find it, but we couldn’t believe that the small, unmarked hole, obscured by greenery, was the entrance. It looked like an animal burrow. Convinced that we had misunderstood the directions, we walked away.
Recently we returned to Cruachan and asked our expert guide, Mike Croghan, whose family has lived in the area for generations, to take us to Oweynagat. Much to our surprise, he led us to the same small opening. We looked at each other in disbelief. This is it? We told him about our previous unsuccessful venture.
Mike smiled enigmatically and said, “Many would look for the Cave of the Cats; few would find it; and fewer still would enter.” Clearly, we were already in the land of legend—and we hadn’t even entered the cave.
Gary said he had no interest in going in. I looked at the opening with trepidation. The photos I had seen in the nearby Cruachan Ai Heritage Center made me nervous—I didn’t know why. But was I going to let fear rule me? It was certainly tempting to do so, given how my legs started shaking at the thought of entering into the darkness. Reason triumphed over fear, however, when our friend Jack offered to lead the way. Besides, despite its scary reputation, surely Oweynagat was just a cave. Wasn’t it?
;)
I watched Jack disappear, feet first, as he slid into the tiny hole. Taking a deep breath, I wiggled in after him. I backed into the downward pointing, triangular opening until I reached a small chamber where I could sit down. After my eyes adjusted, I realized I wasn’t in the cave; I was only in the vestibule.
Jack squatted next to me and shone his flashlight on the Ogham script carved on the lintel over the entry. It translates partially as “…Fraech, …son of Medb,” and refers to a legendary Connacht warrior—more evidence that the cave was probably used for warrior initiations.
A downward-sloping passage to my right led deeper into the earth to the limestone cave. I would have to crawl through the passage for 10 m (33 ft). Jack assured me that the passage gets taller partway down and then opens into a limestone cavity approximately 5 m (16 ft) high and an arm-span wide. That’s the “real” Cave of the Cats. The cave, formed by hydro-erosion, ends about 50 m (164 ft) from the entrance.
While Jack explored the sloping inner passage that led to the cave itself, I stayed in the antechamber, breathing deep and slow. A husky voice crooned in my ear, trying to lure me further into the cave. I knew that if I followed that voice I’d never come back—not as I am, at any rate. Firmly, I ignored the Morrigan’s insistent call. This was no time for death and rebirth. I had other plans. I stayed where I was, sitting in the almost-dark, listening to my ragged breath, listening to her whispers swirling like mist around me.
After what seemed like forever but wasn’t, Jack rejoined me. He crawled out of the antechamber and I followed after. As I stood up under the sun-bright sky, I felt strangely disoriented, oddly serene, and completely disconnected from time. I told Gary, “If you walk off and leave me here, I’d still be standing in the same place six months from now.”
Mike told us that this feeling of being “outside of time” is not unusual after entering the cave. He added, “They say that seven years in the land of the Sidhe—the fairies—is one year in ‘human’ land.” Well, maybe that explains it.
A few months later a friend of mine visited the cave with Mike. She wrote me that she encountered neither beasts nor Morrigan; instead, she discovered a lovely miniature vaulted cathedral with a muddy floor.
IF YOU GO:
;)
Begin your visit to the Rathcroghan Complex at Cruachan Aí (pronounced “Crew-han-ee”) Heritage Center (www.cruachanai.com) at Tulsk. It has informative high-tech exhibits describing the area, as well as a gift shop and cafe. Cruachan Aí is located where the N5 Dublin to Westport Rd intersects the N61 Roscommon to Boyle Rd, a short distance north of Roscommon town. To explore the area and find the Cave of the Cats, a detailed map, available at the Visitor Center, is a necessity; a good guide is even better. Tours can be arranged through the center or contact Mike Croghan at mikejcroghan@yahoo.co.uk and www.bogoakcarvings.com or www.rathcroghantours.com.
Elyn Aviva is a writer, fiber artist, and transformational traveler. Currently living in Girona (Catalonia), Spain, she is fascinated by pilgrimage and sacred sites. Her PhD in anthropology was on the modern Camino de Santiago in Spain. Aviva is author of a number of books on pilgrimage and journey, and she is co-author with her husband, Gary White, of “Powerful Places Guidebooks”; Powerful Places in Ireland will be available in late 2011. To learn more about Elyn or her publications, go to www.pilgrimsprocess.com and www.powerfulplaces.com and www.fiberalchemy.com
16 Comments
Reader Comments (16)
Elyn, This is fabulous! Reading your words, feeling your "ragged breath," I was totally transported to that place of disconnection from time. Thank you for taking me there!
I loved reading this. Overcoming our fears is one of the prime reasons of travel, in my mind. Are there any of those wonderful images left in the cave to see? And would you venture into the larger cave if you went back?
I almost could not read this to the end - I have to admit I was relieved that you did not go further than the antechamber - the vivid description caused a crushing weight on my chest and difficulty in breathing...had you made it all the way in I think I would have panicked and fled from my office.
A marvelous adventure and affecting description. Thanks Elyn!
You should visit the caves in Asturias and Northern Spain. In 2007 several people discovered in a cave the ancestors of the NEanderthal man. Something surprising. We also have caves in Burgos and León and Galicia.... the problem is that we have no records or hints about the remote or recent past inhabitants. During 2006 my wife Peggy and me were visiting and inspecting as much caves as we could in Spain (there are thousands) and you cannot imagine how different atmospheres you can see in. I wish we could learn something about the past in the caves... Cheers!
You are a braver woman than I would be... I am with Gary on this one -- If Morrigan wants me, she can find me out here the the free air!
As a sword martial artist (Kendo) for thirty plus years, I found myself attracted to the site, and sad that you didn't go further. Guess I have to go myself! Thanks for such a clear description of your act of bravery.
Wow Elyn, a new place to visit in Ireland! You weave such a wonderful story, I felt like I was there with you listening to Morrigan... I can't wait for your new Power Places in Ireland book to come out ;-) I'm sure you will have many more fascinating stories to tell and places to visit!
Wonderful writing up to what should have been the climax -- being inside the cave -- I would have wanted to go all the way and have some moment of illumination, if only from having braved my fears. I wish you had ended with whatever Jack had to say about being in the cave. Honey, you are going to have to go back for a THIRD time.
If the Cave of the Cats were in the States, there would be signs and an admission charge. I love that the cave, so rich in historical
significance, is only visible to those who search for it. As usual, I loved your descriptions of your experience and the pictures were rather adorable of you climbing in....or was it out? I would definitely go in, especially if I had someone to go with me. I'd be more afraid of bats....
I thought I left a comment last night but I don't see it yet. Thank you all for your comments! Maybe next time I will make it further.... or maybe not. I was intrigued by the difference between my experience and that of my friend a few months later. I've been in many caves (including wonderful caves in Spain and France--thanks, German, for reminding us!) without any fear and foreboding. So why did I have such a reaction to the Cave of the Cats--just from the pictures? Expectations, intentions, time of the year, energies of the land? Hmmm. Maybe I will go back--but I don't know if I'll get any further.
Elyn,
Well written! and great information about the cave. I appreciate that you were tuned into your own unique experience and followed your intuition.
Elyn,
I remember the day well especially the look on your face (will I, won't I, will I, wont I, will I..........). All I can say is that people who are tuned in (second sight, the third eye - call it what you will) often have this feeling before going into the cave. This is because to them the energy is palpable and recognisable, to others the cave is merely a hole in the ground to be used for ritual or splashing about in.
Whatever path you are walking the cave is a test, to some it is a very powerful place to be entered with respect and reverence, where the visitor can connect with the old Celtic deities, the ancients. To others it is a narrow fissure that leads to a vaulted cavern with a muddy floor, if these people have a phobia about cleanliness or tight spaces a visit to the cavern floor banishes the phobias completely. So a journey into "the cave of the cats" "mother earth "or "the other world" works for people on many levels.
Regardless of your intentions a visit to the cave reveals a space that is undoubtedly feminine in shape and feel and to rise again to the surface gives one a feeling of rebirth - coming from the dark to the light. Perhaps this is why the cave has been called "the entrance to mother earth".
I am truly delighted that we had the opportunity to share some time together and hopefully it will not be too long before we meet again.
And thanks a million for including the slate image of the cat.
Mike
www.rathcroghantours.com
Absolutely fascinating, Elyn! Can't wait to go there myself next June!
Very glad you didn't succumb to that "husky voice" calling you from deep in the cave lest we would have lost all hope for further of your great adventures in Powerful Places in Western, particularly Celtic, Europe. Tis a wee cave compared to the paleolithic Franco Cantabrians but Powerful all the same. Abrazos, Papa Jim
Hah! Papa Jim, maybe you can take me to some of those wonderful paleolithic caves? I've seen some of them, but it's been a while--and they were indeed impressive. I would even say Powerful.
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