Encounters in FRESHFORD: Martial Arts, Ancient Games, and Modern Druids. County Kilkenny.

This episode finds Joe on the very distinctive village green of Freshford in County Kilkenny, training for the forthcoming Irish Conker Championships. He interrupts a Tai Chi class and, as a result, gets a fencing lesson from octogenarian swordswoman Sheila Dooley, before going on to nearby Threecastles to discuss life, death, the universe and everything in it, with practicing druid, Eimear Burke.

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This episode of Lesser Spotted finds Joe Mahon in the picturesque and historic village of Freshford in County Kilkenny, a timely visit because October is the month of the Irish Conker Championships which are held annually on Freshford’s very distinctive village green – it’s surrounded by 52 chestnut trees! Eamonn Dooley holds the world speed conker record and Joe has the temerity to enter the lists against him in a warm-up bout – with predictable results.

The village green is also where you’re likely to find the ladies of Betty Payne’s Tai Chi class going through their routine and it’s here that Joe meets the remarkable Sheila Dooley, an octogenarian fencing champion who seems to have lost none of the speed and agility that brought her so many trophies in the 1950s. Needless to say Joe takes the opportunity to get a few pointers – literally!

It was at the pass of Achadh Úr, the ancient Gaelic name for Freshford, that Diarmuid Mac Murrough, the King of Leinster who allied himself to the Normans, defeated Domhnall Mac Giolla Padraig, the King of Ossory in the year 1170 and Joe explores the many aspects of the area’s Anglo Norman heritage that are still much in evidence. With the assistance of local scholar, Ned Kennedy, he also examines the conundrum of the name of the village – Achadh Úr does not translate into “Freshford”. Ned’s explanation sheds light on the ancient monastic settlement established here by the 6th century St Lachtain.

Freshford is blessed with a beautiful natural environment and Joe joins the parents and children of Gretta Murphy’s nature ramble in nearby Brown’s Wood where he learns the wisdom of talking to the “Grandmother Tree” before entering the forest path. Communing with trees and elemental spirits is second nature to Eimear Burke, a practising druid who lives in the old rectory at Threecastles, who introduces Joe to some of the mysteries of this ancient belief system. Eimear is also a practitioner of modern psycho-therapy and an interesting discussion ensues as to how these two fields co-exist in natural harmony.

Joe rounds off his visit to Freshford at the extraordinary “flower bridge” at Threecastles where Colm Murray, the Architecture Officer of the Heritage Council, relates the story of the River Nore and its importance to the development of Kilkenny City. On the way home he calls to get some fresh eggs from Tony Walsh’s hill farm but is faced with a bewildering range of choices – hens, ducks, peacocks, Australorps or Japanese quails? Tony’s got them all!