Land of Heart’s Desire - Carried Away
May in Ireland is known as being a potent month for the “shee” or faerie folk, who in Ireland, are about as far from Disney as you can get. Not only are they devoid of wings, but are often malevolent figures that should not be crossed, lest they bring bad luck.
In 1894, the writer WB Yeats, premiered a play based on this belief, in which a bored young bride Maire, is tempted away to the faerie land by one of the faery folk who appears in the guise of a child. Titled The Land of Heart’s Desire, after a line in the play, County Sligo, where Yeat’s Mother was from, has adopted the title Land of Heart’s Desire as it’s motto.
In Sligo, where magic and mythology permeate the air and hills, I was invited to “dance upon the mountains like a flame,”just like Maire.
- Georgina
Part 2 of Land Of Heart’s Desire is here.