St Gobnait; Patron of the Beekeepers

Welcome to the beginning of the spring season, Where nature’s whispers come alive with the tale of St. Gobnait on February 11.

St Gobnaits place

When you go to this beautiful Irish town of Balleyvourney, you will find the place where St Gobnait is honoured and very present in modern times.

A small road leads to the St Gobnait area with a churchyard, a Shrine and, within walking distance, the sacred Well.

Walking into the churchyard, you will find an old ruin in the middle and a church. Outside the southeast corner of the church, you find her grave.

Over one of the old church ruin windows is a tiny Sheela-na-Gig carved into an oval recess in the lintel. Her hands rest gently on her abdomen or genitals, and she appears to be standing. This Sheela na Gig tells us that this place has a much older story of sacredness, representing the land’s divine feminine energy.

Who is she?

Her presence lingers in the whispers of the wind, the sun’s rising, the gentle flow of holy wells, and the hallowed halls of churches.

Her story starts somewhere else; it is said that she was born in County Claire and took refuge on the Aran Islands, where the legend starts off a journey through Ireland.

One day, she had a mystical experience. The soft voice of an Angel told her to go on a journey and some quest. She was told to find her destined sanctuary in a place where she would find nine white deer.

She travelled through Ireland to sacred places where we can find churches and Sacred Wells in her name.
When she arrived in Cork, she saw three white deer near Clondrohid’s place.

She followed the deer to Ballymakeera, where she saw six more deer who guided her to Balleyvourney, where she saw the nine-white deer in a vision and founded a religious community for women.

St. Gobnait, blessed with profound insight and wisdom, communed with the very essence of nature itself.

Patron of the Beekeepers

Gobnait’s life was dedicated to beekeeping. With her work, she discovered the health benefits of raw honey. She started an religious order, they took care of the people who needed protection and helpend the sick. She helped many people, saving countless lives and earned the title of the patron saint of beekeepers.

I felt a beautiful soft female energy around the Well in Ballyvourney. As if she knows that we still remember her and the work that she had done for the people throughout Ireland.

I blessed a self-made wax candle in the Well to honour my own bees and their work here in the gardens of Annagh More. A gentle light shines through the farmhouse kitchen tonight.

More information about the story of St. Gobnait:

An informative article: St Gobnait – the patron saint of bees and beekeeping

This is a nice page about the journey of St. Gobnait: Divine Feminine sacred landscape