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| THE LEGEND OF BIDDY EARLY WITCH OR WISE WOMAN OF CLARE? Biddy Early was a well known figure in County Clare in times past. - in Kilbarron, Clare, the tales of Biddy Early are still told. Born Bridget Ellen Connors in lower Faha in 1798, the daughter of John Thomas Connors and Ellen Early, she married four times but was always known by her mother's maiden name, because it was believed that her gifts were inherited through the female line. She is said to have been a witch, with her cures and potions but perhaps she was a woman before her time just dabbling in herbal medicine. Dromore Lake Biddy married four times and her final home was in a cottage on Dromore Hill, overlooking a lake which became known as Biddy Early's Lake. This home in Kilbarron is identified with Biddy 'The Healer', 'The Wise Woman', 'The Witch'. There are many stories of the opposition of the clergy, and in 1865 she was in Ennis charged with witchcraft under the 1586 statute. The case was dismissed 'due to lack of sufficient evidence against the accused'; those who were to give evidence remained strangely silent! She died in April 1874. So well known was this woman that songs were written about her. Here's two verses from "The Ballad of Biddy Early": I sing of Biddy Early, the wise woman of Clare. Many's the man admires her carrot-colored hair, and many those that come to her on horseback or by cart, for she can heal a broken leg or a broken heart. "She keeps a magic bottle in whose majestic eye a tiny coffin twinkles and if it sinks, you die. It rises, you grow better and slip out of pain. It's time for bed," the tinker said, "but pass the cup again. Related sites: http://www.srlab.net/biddy/home.html http://village.vossnet.co.uk/e/early/htale2.html http://www.beb.ie/ |
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