The Power of Social Media

Social media gets a lot of bad press, and I know there is a lot of toxicity online, but there is also a good side to social media, and today a couple of lovely things happened, that wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t online.

I was in Boyle to meet Alan, who did a beautiful piece of art in memory of Rocket-dog. I’ve followed Alan’s blog for a while, and I was so honoured that he took time to do something so special. I met Alan today and picked up the art-work. It was a pleasure to meet him and to hear about his upcoming exhibition at the RHA, as part of the Connections Art Collective. Find out more about them here. And say hello to Alan here.

I woke up early, so I decided to head to Boyle to try to find St. Patrick’s Well, a holy well located in the town. It was very hard to find out a location online, and I’d seen a couple of posts saying it was out the Termon Road, I went down there and couldn’t find it – but I have zero sense of direction. I gave up and headed for breakfast to Lovage at the Gate Lodge – which was gorgeous by the way.

As I was sitting with my porridge, I posted a pic online and said I couldn’t find the well. A lovely lady called Catriona contacted me and said she’d show me, and we bumped into each other just outside Lovage. It’s just a short walk down The Lawn beside the river (on the florist side of the river), there’s a gate at the end and a little stile that you climb over – luckily I didn’t fall flat on my face! Catriona tells me that there are knee prints belonging to St. Patrick on the stone in the foreground of the photo below. There’s also an article on Duchas, that you might be interested in reading.

Catriona pointed out a few places of interest as we walked, including Stewart’s Mill, which I’d never seen before. You can read the history here. It’s going to be opened as a distillery, which I think will be wonderful for the town. I will watch the distillery website with interest, and I look forward to visiting.

I’m so greatful to Catriona for taking the time to show me St. Patrick’s Well, and to Alan for being so thoughtful and generous. There are some really wonderful people out there and today reminded me of the quote by W. B. Yeats: There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.