Kia ora, hello everyone and welcome back. If you’re new to our podcast thanks for listening in. The Aos sí ( pronounced ‘ees shee’), Have you ever heard of that term? Perhaps you may have heard of them by any of the other names they sometimes are called. The Irish and Scottish people often use these terms; “The Good Neighbours”, “The Fair Folk”, or simply “The Folk” – or you may have heard of them called ‘The Fae’, ‘The Fairy Folk’, or simply ‘Fairies’.

In New Zealand the Maori name for them is the ‘Patupaiarehe’. There’s not a country in the world that does not have a version of the wee folk. I’ve already done a couple of episodes, actually three on our New Zealand version in the first season of our podcast. The first was ‘The Patupaiarehe’, followed by ‘A Conversation with Cary Cook’ in which he shared people’s encounters with these beings in New Zealand, and his own encounter. And finally one woman’s scary encounter with the Patupaiarehe in ‘A Forest Encounter’. And actually, in our last episode ‘South of the Border’ with my lovely guest Robert Bitto, we talked briefly about the Aluxe, which are the Mexican version of one variety of the fairy folk.

People already aware of the Fae, at least having heard of them, may consider them merely a myth or a legend, or buy into the Disney version of fairies as little people who have wings and fly around like ‘Tinkerbell’ from the Hook movie, played very ably by the actress Julia Roberts. At least, that is the way that most media would have us see the fae. But is that an accurate portrayal of these elusive beings? What do you think? Do you even believe they exist? Do they exist? And if they do, why don’t more people see them? And importantly, are you prepared to walk with me into this part of the shadowlands and see what awaits us there? Let’s begin.

This episode I have a wonderful guest, a gentleman, a down-to-earth farmer, Pat Noon. Pat owns a farm in Ireland and I heard about him through one of the members of my Facebook group, and about the Fae that he lives with on his property. So I did some research on him. And found that his farm and the Fae on it were fairly well known in the UK. I decided to track him down, as I felt after doing all this research on him, that he would be really interesting to talk with, if only to get the Irish version of the Fae. Pat is a very down to earth man, who loves his land and everything, including the Fae that share it with him. He’s not pretentious and was very easy to talk with.  It was not easy to record our conversation, because, Pat was only able to speak via his phone and the connection was a bit sketchy at times because of where he lives in the country, so I apologise in advance for the places where it is. I have cleaned up the audio as much as I am able to, not being an audio engineer.

Most people even if they don’t know much about Irish culture have definitely heard of the Irish belief in the fairy folk, leprechauns, and the Banshee. But, they may not know much more than that. So before I start the conversation with Pat let me give you a bit of a background on some aspects of the fae in Ireland.

The Aos sí ( pronounced ‘ees shee’),is the Irish term for the fairy folk. In the Irish language aos sí means ‘people of the mounds’. The mounds are known as ‘the sídhe’ ( pronounced Sid). The Fae are said to live underground in these sídhe or in a parallel reality that co-exists with our one. And in our conversation, you will hear Pat refer to the sídhe that he has on his property. In Irish literature the people of the mounds are also called daoine ( pronounced Dah oine) sídhe; in Scottish mythology they are called daoine (pronounced day oine) sìth. So they are known by many names, variations dependent on where in the country you are at the time, or what country you are in.

The Aos sí are described by some as stunningly beautiful, though they can apparently also be terrible and hideous. Some are said to be shapeshifters. And stories of these wee folk, as I mentioned earlier can be found all around the world. The aos sí are often given offerings, like milk and honey, and great care is taken, even today, to avoid angering or insulting them. They are fiercely protective of their homes, whether that is a sídhe, a fairy ring, or a Hawthorne tree, or even a body of water. In Irish mythology, they are believed to come closer to the human realms at dusk and dawn, but not generally during the day. Similar to what some here in NZ believe as well.

There are some many traditional beliefs associated with the Fae and human interaction with them, that it would almost take another episode to go through them all. But, even as recently as nineteen-ninety-nine, there was an incident that showed how seriously the Irish society generally takes the belief in the Fae. In County Clare in the west of Ireland, there is a town called Latoon. The government was wanting to put a new motorway bypass through this area, but there was a fairy thorn tree (white or blackthorn tree) that stood in the way of the bypass. Apparently this particular tree was a marker tree in the fae walking path and was the rendezvous point for Kerry fairies on their way to do battle with the Connacht fairies. There was a huge outcry from those who believed in the Fae, warning of possible deaths and disasters that would strike if this tree was destroyed. So because of this outcry, the redrew the plans for the motorway and curved around the tree, leaving it where it stood. This made the news in Ireland and was reported in a number of the local papers. That’s how seriously this is taken in Ireland. So with this little bit of background on the Irish Fae, I would like to introduce you to my guest Pat Noone.

The Aos Sí

Marianne: Pat, first of all, thank you so very much, for agreeing to talk to me.

Pat: No problem. I’m delighted to be able to talk to you.

Perhaps Pat, you could start at the beginning. And maybe you could tell my listeners about  your farm and your family history?

Right, well, I come, I come from a little, a small farm in the west of Ireland. It’s a mixed traditional farm. I live in a place called Galway. And, we have a nice area of old landscape.  We have a cairn on the land and we have another tomb monitor that’s even older.  It could be four to five thousand years old. The we have fairy fort, which is the oldest of all. I have a portal to the fairy world, where the Blackthorn meets the Whitethorn.

The fairies appear to me on a lot of occasions. Not just to me, but to other people as well.  And on this field as well, there is a white lady appear. She’s synonymous with this field. I have seen her on a good few occasions. And so have a lot of people. The fairy sends me good luck and I don’t ask them for anything really. But, I put it out there when I want something of good for people, and it sometimes it happens and more times I don’t. But there is, there is a connection with the healings I do and the fairies, I think

The Maori in New Zealand call the fae, they call them, Patupaiarehe. That’s for the land Fairy. And for the ones that dwell in the seas, they’re  called Pona-Turi. So, we have names for both types, but they’re very much a part of the Maori culture here in New Zealand, just as they are in Ireland.

Yeah, I was very lucky to have Maori woman stay with me here, two years ago. And she was a healer from the Maori lands.  And she was a big interest in the fairies, in the fairy culture.

Right.

She had  all the body paintings of the Maori, you know?

Oh, the tattoos, right.

I was very lucky to have her here. And she told me a lot about the fairies of the Maori lands and what they do out there as well. And the same – They’re much, much the same properties as the Irish ones, you know?

I would say so. They’re from the same dimension, aren’t they?

Same dimension, they’re from the same dimension.

Yeah, absolutely. Can I ask you to please explain for my listener, who may not know, what a, what a Cairn is?

A Cairn is. . . Yes. Sorry, I should have explained that. A Cairn is where an Irish chieftain is buried. It’s a man-made hill. It’s about three and a half thousand years old. Lands was significant. They were significant three thousand years ago. And when the railroad was going through the property, we didn’t own it at the time. The English owned it.  When the railway was going through, they dug up seven halberds, which was stuck down in a ceremonial circle, which the Celts had.

What’s a hal. . . ?

So we know from Britain –  the halberd is a ceremonial sword. . .

Thank you.

Used today, by the Pope’s guard.  It only hung on your shoulders, with human sacrifice was huge at this  times. So they’re in a London museum. There was a thesis done in 1913 on them. So we know from we know from written history as well as oral history about the significance of this piece of property.

Right. So obviously, it’s a very, very important and quite a sacred place for a chief to have been buried there.

Absolutely. And there is a significance of all, of them being buried there.  Because, beside him in another little hill, there is an old cave, or closure. It’s like Newgrange and there’s a big rock in front of it. Bu, there is significance with the energy, the serious energy levels here on this property, and I have a fertility stone on it as well, where people claims that can’t have kids and that as well.

Right. I did see that you had standing stones and the fertility stone. That’s very interesting. So it actually makes one wonder how people realized that if they went to the stone, it would help them get pregnant –  like it’s the associated energy of that stone.

Well, I have a lot of text messages from people thanking me for the healings I done on them and for the stone who has got pregnant.

Wow, that’s really cool.

It’s really private. And I used to show an odd piece to people, but I don’t bother showing it now, because, if people want to believe it, they can. And if they don’t, I really don’t care anymore.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I agree with that. And I was reading on an article that was written about you, that you your farm is 60 acres. But that 16 acres of that belongs to the Fae, is that correct?

That is the truth that belong to the Fae, although we graze cattle and sheep and horses on that 16 acres as well. It’s farming land. The fairies loves farming.  They, really love the traditional way of farming. And I am a traditional farmer, as I say, as good as I can be you know.

Right? Well, of course they would, wouldn’t they? Because the fae are all about nature and looking after nature.

Looking after nature, animals grazing, and healthy animals. And I have, I have one tree in that sixteen acres, that’s a thousand years old as well.

Wow. Really?

Yeah. Yeah. I have a massive Ash tree. I have a tree that grows without any trunk at all.  That fell over a hundred years ago, or past it and it still creeps along the ground. And I have a Yew tree growing on it, plus the fact I have a lot of Whitethorn that lives to be five-hundred years old. I have a nice selection is there. On that property I have a little house that the monks had in Kilkenilaby. They used it as a little retreat and a healing house a thousand years ago. I hope someday maybe to get a roof on it and use it again as a healing house. When I get a few pound together, you know.

Your house, your property has so much history attached to it. That’s so amazing to me because, of course, New Zealand is such a new country compared to Ireland. And, I have ancestors myself that come from Ireland. I, can you please . . .

You, but your country’s been new, only new to the white man.

Correct.

Your country has been in existence for  the Maori, for thousands of years, you know?

Oh correct. Absolutely. And thank you. Thank you for correcting that. That’s what I should have said to begin with, that it’s only, yeah,  been colonized fairly recently. We don’t we don’t have the history that Ireland does, or Scotland does, or England does. Or any of the countries are over there do, because of that. The Maori do.  They have the history that goes way back.

The Maori do, and plus the fact a lot of people that immigrated out to New Zealand, I suppose, and that part of the world, left a lot of their fae tradition behind them.  Because, they went out with, I suppose, a new religion and they kind of practiced new religions out there, you know?

That’s, that that’s actually a very valid point. A very valid point. Can you please tell me the significance of the – sorry what’s  that tree called the white, the white. . .

The Whitethorn,

Whitethorn! Yes, the Whitethorn tree. What is the significance of that and the Blackthorn?

The significance of the whitethorn first is, is a huge medicine tree in the fae tradition. It’s the only tree, it’s the only tree in Ireland that produces two fruits.  One in summer, and one in autumn. And are two medicine fruits as well, they are harkins and misses [? Correct interpretation of words – hard to tell with accent]

Right. And what is the significance of it to the Fae folk?

Well, the Fae is, was –  I suppose the Fae was a huge medicine people, as well. And had the knowledge of, of plants of the land.

Of course.

And one of the great plants to the land is the Whitethorn. And its significance, I suppose, we have a lot of significance lost with it.  Even the Whitethorn white flowers you could make champagne out of it. We have lost so many pieces of it. And the bark of it, you can do so many things with it.  It’s a huge medicine tree. It was a huge medicine tree, hugely respected in Ireland.  Plus the fact it was a thorn tree as well. A thorn tree was, was a protector of, of one’s own little patch as well, you know?

Right. Of course. Of course. That’s really interesting. OK, so, so how many generations has this property been in your family for, Patrick?

Well, I suppose I can go back to my father, which I remember, very well into the fairies. I don’t remember my grandfather. He passed away before, when I was too small to remember. But my father was a big, big fairy man. Big conversations about the fairies, a big, healing man, medicine man. A lot of things,  you know?

He was kind of, I suppose he was like me. We didn’t pass any remarks on. We just got on our day’s work. People came. You stop what you were doing, and did what you had to do with them. And then got back to doing –  nothing really much about it. It was just something that –  I’d always said we were like good musicians. We just play music. Good musicians just play music when they want to. And we were just doing this when we want to as well.  

Got you. Right! So for you, you’ve actually no, no different. This has been a part of your reality, your whole life.

This is all I know. People looking at fairies and my, my land is like looking at traffic in Dublin. You don’t pass any remarks on it of you’re living in Dublin.

Right! I’ve got you. Right, of course!

And fairies on my land. I can’t go around the village saying, I’d seen another lot of fairies yesterday. Nobody would pay any attention to me, because, they’re looking over the ditch and they’ll probably see them as well, you know. So it’s not uncommon. You don’t just go around saying Oh, Jesus,  now there’s something else I’m seeing, you know?  It’s just one of these things.

And it’s just a part of your everyday reality. So you just accept it as it is. I totally understand that. So can you tell me, please, about, about the fae? What do they look like?

The fae is in the same image, as the person that’s looking at them. Most of the time. There’s other times they will have changed into animal form.

Ah, so they’re shapeshifters?

Shapeshifters and my daughter seen the fae there last year. And she’s only nine and she’s seen them in horse styes. So it’s not pertinent on what size are they.  I’ve seen them as high as five foot eleven, but my daughter has seen them down four foot, and three foot, you know. But, most of the time, you will see them in your own image, so you will. Whatever height you are. And there’s times then you’ll see them as hares and as Stoats. The hare was very significant in Ireland and so was the stoats they were well recognized as shapeshifters of the fae.

Really? That’s really interesting. And why is – why those two animals in particular, do you know?

Well, the hare, I suppose, has something that no other animal has. He has speed. He has huge speed, the hare has huge speed. And if you if you were out shooting and you shot a hare, he would cry like a child. If you will. Oh, yes, he would put the hair stand on the back of your neck, plus the fact, the hare eats nothing, only herbs. He’s a herbalist, the hare. The hare is a pure herbalist.

During, during Ireland’s –  when Ireland’s troubled times and we had no medicine, people that would get the flu or get sick would trap a hare, and boil him.  And the medicine of the herbs, of the hare would cure you. And as far as, as for the stoat,  the weasel, he is a ferocious animal as well. He comes from one of the great hunting families of Ireland. OK, he’s, he’s the dead opposite of the hare. The hare would not hurt anything, right? That the hare will do nothing to, nothing to any other animal. He will not kill an animal, hurt an animal, or bite an animal. Whereas the stoat is the other end of the arrow, he’s the warrior. And if you, if you kill the stoat out hunting or shooting, all the other stoats would come that night, and take him away and bury him.

Really? Wow.

Yes!  And if a stoat didn’t like you and he was a hare – he became a fairy, he would spit into your, your, well, or your tea and pollute it.

Oh, that’s very interesting.

Yes. The stoat spit was dreaded. The stoat spit was dreaded as an evil thing.

So of course not all the fae, I guess like humans, have – are benevolent, or have good intentions towards humans.

Not at all. There is, there is the equilibrium. You have the good and the bad. So you have, and you have to, you people thinks – In the olden days in Ireland, fairies was not allowed into your house. They were not welcome in your house. They were kept out in the fields where they belonged. They were they belonged in nature. And no business being in your house whatsoever.  The old people in Ireland didn’t want them in their houses whatsoever. Their place was outside.

Is that because you never knew whether they were going to be malevolent or if they were going to be Trickster’s?

Yes. No one, you couldn’t take the risk. Plus, the fact they were doing a job in nature. They were nature, they were nature spirits. And that’s where they belonged.

Right. I really love the way the Irish people have always lived in harmony with the fae folk. With the unseen realms. That to me, is so impressive. Now, I’ve – I also read that you’ve actually seen a banshee? Can you please explain to my listeners what –  firstly, what a banshee is?  And then your experience?

A Banshee is a woman who cries, before a person dies.  She’s – before a person dies, you will hear this woman crying. Which is not –  a part of the church’s put the Banshee down as a withered up old hag. But I have seen the Banshee as a young maiden.  And my father explained to me the reason the Banshee would come and cry and celebrate death. Death was to be celebrated a hundred years ago in Ireland or anywhere in England, or didn’t make a difference what country.

And people that would have cancer would be tied to the bed, maybe for a week or two before they died, roaring in pain. We had no medicines derived, none whatsoever. So the village would be minding these people. They  had to be seen taking turns and shift workers minding them. Dressing them, turning them, trying to bathe them with cold water, or hot water or whatever was doing. But, say I was changing shift with you tonight. And I came in and I said I heard the banshee tonight, crying. The whiskey would be taken down and the fiddle would be taken out. And there’d be music played although the person was still alive. With the know that they would be going out of this world. Out of the terrible pain that have.

Oh wow! So, initially the Banshee wasn’t feared. It was something that was celebrated, because, it was an end to suffering?

It was an end to suffering. That you often heard it said that does worse things than dying could happen to you. So you can imagine, like in the great wars where people’s legs, and limbs was blown off with shells. And no medicine. And the roars of them people in pain? Well, it was the same thing was with people in, in and I’m only talking about my own area [inaudible], being people that had obstructions with cancer, and bothers with breathing difficulties. They’d be roaring in pain. You could hear them for three miles, the roars with pain. And we had no medicine, we had no morphine, we had nothing.  We had Poitín, but that would wear off after a month drinking that. You  become immune to it and your body wouldn’t take any more of it. So when you heard, when you heard the person had come in and said the banshee is crying, there was a celebration, it was a celebration of death moving across to the other side and the pain going out of the person’s body as well.

So that’s actually a positive thing. And that’s a different slant to everything that I’ve ever heard about the Banshee, because, my father used to talk about the Banshee, and he said it was something to be feared. But actually, you’ve given me a whole different perspective on it.

It’s something to be feared because people well, the churches you see, even today look at. You know, it’s as long as it is broad, like. What are you going to do suffer on? Or move to the other side? You know, the Catholic Church, which was the main church here in this country, like, you know, idiots, one track mind, and no give. You know? Now, it’s different now, different times. I’m talking fifty, a hundred years ago, sixty years ago.

Yes, exactly. Yes. I remember when I was a child and yeah, it’s changed a great deal in my lifetime.

It’s has changed. Brilliant. It’s brilliant. And it’s changing for the better.

Yes, I would say so. I would absolutely say so, now. . .

It’s changing for the better, but our religion –  I suppose, our great tradition in Ireland before anything came was the fae religion really, you know?

Absolutely!

Then we had the conquest of the Celts, and that you see. So, I suppose you can think what you like.

Absolutely. So when you talk to the Fae, do you?  On the occasions that you’ve seen the Fae and talked to them, how do they communicate with you? Is it verbally, or was it telepathically?

Verbally, verbally. I can speak to them. As I speak to ordinary humans,

Right. And do they give you any, like, messages or information? Or is it just like small talk with humans?

It’s small talk. Sometimes they would, they would give me a little advice on farming. I really don’t ask them for much advice. I look at it –  if it comes, it comes, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. People says to me, why don’t I ask them for the lottery numbers? You know? But why don’t I? is another question.

Well, that’s quite – I guess that’s a respect thing as well, because, you respect their time.  And the fact that they show themselves to you. Why would you denigrate that with something so trivial?

And money is trivial in this country as well, it’s, it’s a big thing. And the fae look it, they, they have helped me in the farming here. I have always sold cattle, or sheep, at the right time. And got out before the slump on the markets, I have. I have.  I’m not poor, but I’m not rich either, you know?

Right, but you, you, do OK. And because you are –  I’m feeling, because, you value the land.  Because, you treat the fae with respect, then they in turn, will look after you and your animals. And make sure that you have what you need.

Absolutely. And, a lot of people has sent great donations to me now, this year. To feed animals as well during the winter. So that’s another way the fairies is helping out, you know?

That’s really lovely. That’s really, really lovely.

Yeah, a lot of people from all over the world and from Ireland have sent small donations, and all sorts of donations to help feed animals and buy fed stuffs, so all good. Things like that that you can’t explain. That just happens. That just happens. I don’t go looking for it. It just bloody well happens.

Right. And I did read that in one article, that the fae gave you advice to sell your cattle before the covid struck. Is that correct?

That’s right. That’s right. And my, and my horses, I had all sold, before the big slump came. Before it was a serious, serious, serious downturn on the market. So I was very happy coming into the winter months, you know.

Wow, that’s so cool that they look after you like that.

It’s small stuff. It’s nothing. Look at, it’s nothing, bloody well, I’m not going to be driving around in a new BMW, but I’m happy enough doing my own thing, you know?

But, you know, that stuff is trivial to the Fae. That’s trivial. It’s nothing. It’s just materialistic stuff. What’s important is the land. Is the looking after the land, the, the creatures who live on the land. And you would come under that designation.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And no good. We do have ups and downs told. Things don’t go wrong as well. It’s not –  farming is not like a dishwasher. You can’t press a button and it starts working, you know? There is things will go wrong, and the fae will play tricks with me as well, you know. So that’s part, of part of the whole scenario.

Right. So what sort of tricks have they played on you?

Well, I’ll just give you a little, one example, and it’s only got to be a short one.  I could give you a mile of them.  Last, I suppose two months ago, three months ago, I lost a crowbar, belonged to my father. And it’s not significant. It’s not significant value. You know, it was only –  But I suppose you buy one for 30 or 40 pounds, you know.

But, I lost it of the tractor and we do find things, myself and Evelyn we’re diviners. We can find stuff.  But, no bloody well, where could we find this? I could not find it. And I was months looking for it. And one day, I was walking out the gateway and there it was thrown in the middle of the gateway. And I had crossed that gate about twenty times in, in the, in a week, you know?

Right. Yeah, that sounds very familiar. I’ve heard stories similar to before, in fact, on my Facebook group, one of my members was having trouble with the fae.  Like, she was finding things on her farm track, that she didn’t know how got there. And little tricks like that is just part of their nature, isn’t it?  They are mischievous.

Part of their nature, and it’s on – it’s, it wasn’t serious. The bar itself wasn’t worth anything. It wasn’t monetary value.

It was just sentimental.

Yes. It’s sentimental value. And I found it after about three months. And we’d done – Myself and Evelyn, we searched this paddock. Like to the same as you’d be fishing, ‘twas that close walking nowhere, and then it just turned up.

Yeah, that’s so – and you’re probably going – You probably knew that they took it, when you couldn’t find it?

I knew that they took it and I wouldn’t bother going looking for it after a while. And I would never look for it. I wouldn’t even bother looking. I would place them to look for it.

Right. Of course. Now you mentioned that you’re a diviner?

Yeah. We do find water on different things, so we do.

Right. So do you use rods? Or do you use like branches from a tree?

Both. We can use both.

And that’s . . .

Either rods or branches. Either, it doesn’t make a difference.

Right. Can you please explain to my listeners what a diviner is? And what they do? And how they work?

They can find water on your property. Plus the fact, they can find things that’s lost as well, if they want to. We generally don’t bother doing that. We might do it for certain things, for certain people, but we don’t, we don’t bother making a habit of doing it for people, you know?  Because, it’s not a nice thing. You could be asked to find bodies of people that’s missing or that, you know? We don’t really, we don’t really want to bother ourselves with that. There’s other people makes a living at that, and let them at it, you know?

Yes. Yes.

We’re, put it this way, we’re just doing it for farming. We use it for healings as well, and different things. But we don’t want –  like the police could use us, if they wanted us to find bodies of that. But we don’t want that. We don’t want to go down that road, you know?

Yeah, I totally understand that. I . . . yeah.

Because,  if you do it for one, you have to do it for some other ones,  so the handiest thing is we don’t do it for anybody, you know? We might do a little bit of fulling for ourselves, or maybe a neighbour doesn’t want water found, different things like that.

Right. So for my listeners, what, how this works is on energy. So, Patrick picks up the energy of whatever he’s looking for, is that correct Pat?

That’s right, yeah. We pick up the energy and it transfers it into the sticks, or into the, into the copper wire. And you know that there’s water under you.

And do you feel it in your body like a current, or. . . ?

Oh,  yes. Yes. It’s, it’s, a thing that a lot of diviners does die young. It interferes with their heart and strains their hearts.  

Oh? Interesting. Now, that’s something that I hadn’t considered. Because, of course, you are channelling that energy. So. Yes, it’s electrical.

Yes,

Oh, absolutely. And . . .

And the same way, with the same way with the healing.  After a days healing, you spend a day or two in bed. You’re not able to get up. You’re, you’re, not working. So, so, it’s not as simple as, it’s not as simple as turning on a button on the radio, you know?

Yes, I totally, I totally understand that.  As a spiritual sensitive myself, I totally get where you’re coming from. And people don’t realize the amount of energy that you expend doing healing, and, and energy like that. It’s a lot. It takes a lot out of your body. And the older you get, the more you notice it.

Oh yes. That’s –  I’m fifty three. And believe you me, I know every, every time I do this sort of work I know I’m after being, being doing it, you know?

Yeah. I totally get that.  I rarely do consultations with people anymore, because, it just drains me so much. It takes me days to, to balance my energy levels back. Hmm.

Yes. It takes you, it takes a lot to recharge you again.

Yeah, it really does. And of course, you’re –  I think, one of the significance of your property is, is that you have ley, a ley line crossing –  or ley lines crossing it. Is that correct?

That’s right. That’s right. I’ve ley lines crossed on the property, as well.

So that makes it extra, extra –  ah, of extra importance.

Well, well, I suppose that’s why the, why the chieftain was buried there, you see. And what the fairy fort as well, you know, so they could find these ley lines just like I can, you know?

Absolutely. Absolutely. And ley lines, for those listeners who don’t know, are like –  think of it like an electrical current that runs from point A to point B.  And a ley line on is what transmits that current. And they criss-cross the whole planet.

And it’s powerful! It’s a very, very powerful energy.

Very powerful. Can you tell me a bit about the fairy fort Pat?  What exactly is that?

The fairy fort is it’s a round, it’s round and it’s on top of a hill and it’s surrounded with white thorn trees. And there is a tunnel in the centre of mine which I’m looking at, which is known as the womb of the world. Ah, the fairies appeared here and then on a lot of occasions, to a lot of different people. When you walk into this, this fort, it’s the same as cabin pressure you’d have in an aeroplane. You will feel your ears buzzing.

Oh wow, so there’s a pressure change?

There’s a pressure change in it. It’s a serious pressure change. It’s where the fae live, that they are –  Now, there’s a lot of forts in Ireland, but a lot of them has no power. But this one has great power. This one has great, great power, great energy. The white lady has appeared here on a good few occasions.

So, who is this white lady? Is she like an actual being? Or is she just a representation of energy?

I am not able to answer you that. If I could, I would. I only seen her a few times and she just passes through the fort a few times. A young maiden with, with flowing hair. Now, my daughter has seen her a few times.

Right, right. That’s very interesting.

So, I’ve only seen her I don’t know much about her. I never spoke to her in person.

Right, you’ve just seen her in passing. That’s really interesting. I do understand that, that the fae have a hierarchy within their culture. Some may call them kings and queens, or leaders, or priest and priestesses. But I understand that they do have a certain hierarchy. Is that correct?

Yes, there is that there is a kingdom of hierarchy in the fairies. And I suppose I suppose it’s like everything. It’s like every army, or every culture there is., there is a stepping stones to greatness comes age and other, you know?

So I’m just wondering if this white lady belongs to that hierarchy?

I don’t know. I, I could, I could imagine telling you different things, but I’m not going to. I never I never spoke to this lady. I have only seen her passing by me on a few occasions. But this field has been known to see her. There’s more people than me. There’s more people seen her than I have, and on more occasions.

Oh, that’s really interesting and you have, you have a lot of visitors come to your farm, to specifically, to visit your fairy folk?

Yes, I have a lot of visitors from all over the world. And I was, as I was telling you, I had a we do a bit of B&B here and I had a New Zealand girl stay here with us. A Maori, last year.

She would have loved it. I’m sure she would have..

She loved it. She loved it. She loved it. She absolutely loved it here. No, I have people from America. I’ve people from all over. I had a representative of the Queen of England stay here, so I had.  And I have a letter from the palace thanking me.

Oh  really?

So, so, I don’t make up these stories. A lot of people think I make up these things, but I don’t need to. It’s all real.

And what would be the point of us, really? Because. . .

There’s no point.

Exactly

There’s no point.

Yeah, exactly. Because –  and like talking about these things you –  most people are . . . talking about does you open yourself to all sorts of ridicule and criticism from people who don’t believe. And, I can’t believe that anybody would willingly open themselves to that for something that wasn’t real.

Yeah. And I suppose if you go back, let’s say a hundred years ago, again in Ireland, like, the likes of W B Yates met the fairies. Very open, because, before he went with the fairies and experienced them, you will be put into a mental institution by the churches. And I mentioned churches, not just one church. We had a few different churches. We will make no, we’ll make no distinction.

And, W B Yates was a poet. A famous poet. He had a direct line to the Queen of England. And he fought on the Irish side, for the Irish independence. And he didn’t really care if they came from landed people, but he was with the fae, became a great fae lover, fairy lover, great writer of fairies. Great. A great man that opened up the whole fairy scene.

That’s very cool. That’s very cool. I wasn’t aware of that about him. I mean, I was aware of his poetry. I’ve read some of his poetry over the years, but I didn’t know that he had experience with the fae.

Oh yeah, he had actually gone and lived – went to the world at one stage. So he had. Yeah, was a special man. But, if he was a poor man, he would be put in an institution. But he was a wealthy man, and he was a revolutionary. So nobody would –  he couldn’t be touched by anybody.

That’s interesting. I wonder if he was chosen, because, they knew that he was relatively safe.

Absolutely. He, I suppose he was chosen as –  I suppose he was a land lover first.  He loved Ireland, loved our land, loved our land. Loved her people, as he proved, when he fought for us. And he could write the songs and the stories about us and he couldn’t be really prosecuted because he was too high up the ranks of nobility.

Right. Very interesting.

And fae has a different ways, I suppose, of interacting with – Well, I suppose even the likes of myself, that took on the likes of me, to publicly talk about it, you know? Because, a lot of people wouldn’t talk about the fae in Ireland.  Even today, because, they’re afraid of being stigmatized. These days are gone , it’s Hollywood now and, you know, fast cars, fast women and fast horses.

Yes. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. It takes a special kind of person to speak out about their truth. To walk their truth actually. So kudos to you for that. And I I’ve been I come from slightly a different perspective. My, my whole life’s journey has been with people from the stars.  nNot so much with the Fae folk, but I’ve always known that there are many other realities and beings living around us then humanity is largely aware of.

Sure, there is lots of different, lots of different elements out there that we know nothing at all about.

Yeah. And, the fae have always been here. They’ve always, they’ve always been there. And they used to interact more openly with humanity in the earlier days, until humans started to become greedy. And, and, humanity became greedy and felt that they knew more. That they were more important than nature, and looking after the planet. And, they became full of the consumerism that consumes so many of us today.

Absolutely. And, they were working together with humans for a long time.

Yes, they were,.

And then the humans got greedy and tricked them.  The fae didn’t trick the humans, ’twas the humans that tricked the Fae.

Yes, absolutely. That’s my understanding completely. And so since then, they’ve been more selective about who they show themselves to.

Absolutely. To have picked and choose the people of, I suppose, of land and of nobility, and a warrior type. You can talk about the three things you know?

Right. So for you and your family, obviously, it’s your life’s mission to preserve your land where you are. To preserve the sacred space and keep it as intact as you possibly can?

Absolutely. Well, look it, I’m only doing what should be done. I’m not doing anything, I’m not doing anything bloody well different than should be done, I’m just doing it normal. But now, I do have rows with the Department of Agriculture here. When they tell me that I have to knock a ditch out, so I could build a wall stone on the ground. I say no! The Fae said to leave it that way. And that’s the way I want to leave it. But you can’t argue with certain people, you know.

Yeah, right. Right and . . .

Because, they don’t understand, it’s the most – the most draining job.

Yeah, well, of course, bureaucracy doesn’t believe in the fae. They just believe in what they can see. What they can touch.  The laws they have to enforce.

Yeah, I’m knowing that. But I don’t agree that –  it’s that they know what’s wrong. They can see what’s wrong. But they still can’t admit to that, you know? They have to keep going, doing the same old stupid stuff that they have for the last twenty, thirty years. When they know that’s not working. You know?

Right. Ah right. It must make it quite difficult at times.

It’s very difficult at times when I’m farming. I don’t know too much explaining to them anymore, arguing with them. I just leave them alone if they want. If they want to take money off me in grants, or whatever, just bloody well what can I do when they do it. There’s no point in arguing.

Yeah. Yeah I totally understand that. Yeah, I totally understand that. So, do you see anything? Have you noticed a difference over the last maybe, couple of years, in how the fae are interacting, or how they seem? Or have they let you know of anything that’s coming up, as far as the planet goes? Earth changes that sort of thing?

Well, I suppose the biggest thing is, is the food. The, the bad food. The bad quality of food. It’s not the amount. It’s the bad –  it’s the real bad quality of food. That was the one thing to have. They have to put out there to me and not just to me, but to other airy people as well. It’s not the amount of food, it’s the bad quality of food.

And like the chemicals and stuff that are used in it.

The chemicals and stuff that’s used. And the water, of course, as well. Well, I only talk for our country like the pollution of the water here, which chlorine and different things.

Oh, yes, chlorine.

It’s a, it’s a big issue. It’s a big issue. It’s a big issue in this country, like with the water, and pollution of water as well.

Well, I think it’s the same world-wide. It’s the same in New Zealand. I know, here where I live, they put chlorine and fluoride in our water. So I absolutely don’t drink it.

We are, we are the same here in Ireland. We’re pumping this stuff into natural water that falls out of the sky. And we have our own well here.  We divined our own well. So, we really don’t bother government people, or the pollution. We leave it to themselves, if they want to kill themselves. Bloody hell, fire at it, you know?

The sad thing is that us regular folk don’t get that choice. We don’t.

Yeah, well, that’s the thing. But, people will start to have to making choices from now on.

Yes, they are.

It’s like with this pandemic, epidemic that have to start – They have to wake up now and smell the roses.

Absolutely. And are you guys like England having to into lockdown at all?

Yeah, we’re in lockdown. We’re in lockdown. We’re talking about more lockdown. We’re in bad lockdowns and half lockdowns. And it’s not good. It’s not. We’re in a bad position at the minute.

You are. Does it affect you directly, or on your farm? Are you managing OK?

Ah, look it.  It’s, it’s, slowing me down now, it’s slowing down for agriculture at the present minute. We’re actually slowing down agriculture. It is affecting, it is affecting us. It is affecting the farming community. It’s affecting the farming community, both mentally as well as financially.

Oh, I can imagine.

Because, mentally we’re used to doing our own thing. And we’re not allowed to kind of do our own things now.  Selling cattle, selling sheep, moving stock here and there. So, it is affecting us. And it’s affecting a lot of a lot of the elderly farmers. Who used to go to the cattle markets and markets, and they used to use that as a day out, which is banned now. So it has a big thing. It has an effect on a rural Ireland.

That’s really hard.

And a lot of the small shops, businesses and public houses will never open again.

That’s really hard. And I’m sorry to hear that. Like, we don’t realise here in New Zealand how very, very fortunate we are.  Because, here in New Zealand, we’re just continuing like nothing’s going on. Because for us, we’re not affected at this point in time. But of course, things can change in the future.  Because, we shut our borders pretty much as soon as this started. And so I do forget how desperate it is for people out in the, the general world.  And, my heart really goes out to you guys. And I know that for those small businesses and people like yourself who rely on the markets and it’s very, very difficult. And I’m so sorry for that.

Yeah, it’s going to be tough. Like, we had no tourists last year at all. Yeah. From America, Australia, New Zealand. We had none whatsoever. International tourists.  Ireland relies on tourism here for part of our industry.

Yes, New Zealand does as well. And of course we don’t have any tourist industry at the moment either, because, nobody’s allowed in the country. So I totally get you on that one. Absolutely. And, you know . . .

It’s tough.

it filters down to every part of the community, doesn’t it?

It does. It’s going to be serious. But we’ll weather it out.  Look it,  the big, the big war, world war two, the people of Europe got over it. And we’ll get over this, too.

Oh yeah, you absolutely will. Absolutely no doubt about it. And, it’s just tough while you’re going through it. But it’s looking at the greater picture isn’t it? And for you the thing is, it’s a little bit different for you.  Even though it’s affecting you, like financially and emotionally. Spiritually you have your fae you can hold on to. So you have a greater picture than the average person.

I have. I have. I have. That’s one thing I have. Yeah. I’ve, I’ve, I have a little edge, now on the other guy up the street.

Right. So that would help a little bit. and it’s so very cool. Pat, thank you so very much for your time today. I’ve really enjoyed talking with you. Thank you so much for sharing about your farm and the family and your knowing. And, I know that many of my listeners are going to absolutely enjoy listening to you. And I hope that things pick up for you and yours.

Well, I wish you all the best in New Zealand as well. And I hope your listeners enjoy it.

I want to thank Pat for his time and sharing of his knowledge with us all. I really liked his down to earth attitudes and his love of his land and the Fae on it. Also, for expanding my awareness of knowledge of the Fae in that part of the world.

Just a note about most of the episodes in this series, and the first few, next season. Most of the interviews for the episodes were recorded before Christmas. This was because I’m currently dealing with some family issues that require me to be available for my particular family member. So I didn’t want our podcast to be disrupted or to suffer.

I generally try and record three episodes in advance as a general rule, to allow for sickness or some emergency situation, so the podcast is covered and there’s no disruption for you, my listeners. However, because of this situation, I worked really hard and recorded most of this season’s guests, with the exception of a couple of the episodes, before Christmas. I then edit our conversation and record the intro and closing remarks, before I upload them in queue for your listening. That’s also why there is a discrepancy in the sound quality between the intro and the conversations with my guests – my old computer was dying when these were recorded, and I had to get a new one.

Today’s bumper music is doesn’t have any particular name, simply titled Celtic Female vocal, rather hauntingly beautiful though, in my opinion.

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