Hag Stones, are they an example of authentic Irish folklore or a neo-pagan import?

By Darkone CC BY-SA 2.0

The first time I ever heard of Hag-stones was this year. They are more commonly known as Adder stones and described on wikipedia as follows:

"An adder stone is a type of stone, usually glassy, with a naturally occurring hole through it. Such stones have been discovered by archaeologists in both Britain and Egypt." 

In Britain they are also called hag stones,^[1] witch stones, serpent's eggs, snake's eggs, or Glain Neidr in Wales, milpreve in Cornwall, adderstanes in the south of Scotland and Gloine nan Druidh ("Druids' glass" in Scottish Gaelic) in the north. In Germany they are called Hühnergötter ("chicken gods"). In Egypt they are called aggry or aggri.

Adder stones were believed to have magical powers such as protection against eye diseases or evil charms, preventing nightmares, curing whooping cough, the ability to see through fairy or witch disguises and traps if looked at through the middle of the stone, and recovery from snakebite. According to popular conception, a true adder stone will float in water.

Three traditions exist as to the origins of adder stones. One holds that the stones are the hardened saliva of large numbers of serpents massing together, the perforations being caused by their tongues. The second claims that an adder stone comes from the head of a serpent or is made by the sting of an adder. The third is more modern (and much easier to attain). It details that the stone can be any rock with a hole bored through the middle by water. Human intervention (i.e., direction of water or placement of the stone) is not allowed.^[2]"

Increasingly I noted on the popular facebook group "Irish Stones" that they were being mentioned in an Irish context and out of curiosity I asked some of the people that mentioned them was there any written references to the them in Irish folklore. I'm from an inland part of Ireland and hag-stones you would imagine would be related to coastal folklore.

The main written reference in an irish context seems to come from a book by James Bonwick in 1894 titled 'Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions'. 

It states 

"In spite of the Lectures of the learned O'Curry, declaring the story to be "nothing but the most vague and general assertions," Irish tradition supports the opinion of Pliny that, as to magic, there were those in the British Isles "capable of instructing even the Persians themselves in these arts." But O'Curry admits that "the European Druidical system was but the offspring of the eastern augurs"; and the Tuaths came from the East. They wrote or repeated charms, as the Hawasjilars of Turkey still write Nushas. Adder-stones were used to repel evil spirits, not less than to cure diseases. One, writing in 1699, speaks of seeing a stone suspended from the neck of a child as a remedy for whooping-cough. Monuments ascribed to the Tuatha are to be seen near the Boyne, and at Drogheda, Dowth, Knowth, &c."

Bonwick was an Englishman living in Australia without first hand knowledge or experience of irish folklore. A very good indication of local folklore as it was recorded in the 1930s is on Duchas.ie. This online archive of the Irish Folklore Commissions schools manuscripts shows that there are no records of hag stones or adder stones. For a comparable example a search for the dobhar cu, a relatively obscure irish folklore story, gives 3 stories and 22 transcripts or the Goban Saor 201 stories and 175 transcripts. 

Other references to date seem to be from recent local oral folklore and possibly from the North-west of Ireland.

Ireland doesn't / didn't have any adders or snakes from which the name is likely to originate. There is a suggestion that a stone anchor or stone weight in Irish is known as a Cailleach, which is also the Irish for a witch or hag. However again turning to duchas.ie, there is no mention of stones with holes in them in the stories recorded relating to the Cailleach in the Schools Manuscripts that I can see.  

https://www.duchas.ie/en/src?q=cailleach&t=CbesTranscript&p=1&o=&r=&ct=&ctr=

One concern that we should all have about Irish folklore is the introduction of imported concepts into the irish body of folklore. You can clearly see this with all the fairy doors and fairy walks that abound in the country. If you look at the whole folklore around fairies, they were not the kind of beings that you wanted your children to be hanging out with! 

I'm concerned that hag-stones in an irish context are similar, perhaps introduced in a neo-pagan context to explain the Irish name for a stone anchor. If it is authentic historic Irish folklore then it is of interest and it would be great if someone could do a proper study of its origins and distribution around the island.   

The Black Pig's Bed at Lough Gur

Leaba na Muice or the Black Pig's Bed on the edge of Lough Gur in Limerick from the archives (circa 2006).

"Leaba na Muice" is supposed to have been the abode of a famous black pig which did considerable damage to all other animals - especially cows - in the neighbourhood. This famous animal was of considerable size and was fery ferocious and often "mangled" other animals much larger than herself.

Finally the people became exasperated and decided to take the offensive against this destructive animal. The "Clarion Call" went forth and the people armed with forks, knives and patches assembled on Cnoc Aine which would be about 4 miles from the abode of 

the Black Pig. The people were not sure where she had her headquarters as she was often seen miles away from "leaba na muice", and hence they decided to comb the whole district for her. They even knew of three other haunts where they expected she might be. One of those haunts was convenient to Cnoc Aine.

The farmers who assembled in Cnoc Aine on that morning numbered several hundreds. Then they marched northwards - in the direction of Lough Gur - in extended formations. They searched every thicket and wood carefully but no trace of this ferocious animal did they find till they came to "leaba na muice".

When the party reached "leaba na muice" the Black Pig sprang to life and emerged from under the larger flag 

which covered the "leaba". When she came out of the "leaba" 4 bonhams - young pigs - appeared with her. The old mother stood at bay for a while and displayed a fierce, angry countenance together with formidable "tusks" which for a while called a halt to the advance of the angry natives.

Then suddenly as if you instinct or by command, three of the four bonhams fled away towards the north while mother pig cried halt to the advancing human beings. The fourth bonham fled back into the "leaba" and remained there for some time and seeing the armed party pass by on the track of her mother and sisters she too took flight but not to the north but to the south.

When the pig thought that her young ones had got a good start and finding 

herself being surrounded on all sides and her retreat about to be cut off she too turned and fled towards the north and as she did so she looked back at her angry pursuers and without checking her speed she snarled at them in a fierce manner and said

"Woe to the people between Cork and Limerick". 

Note: I have vainly endeavoured to find out 

the exact meaning of this treat or if "woe" did befall them that lived in that "accursed quarter"

The young pigs kept together for sometime closely followed by their protecting mother. Then when some miles of the country had been traversed and all danger seemed past they all separated. One of the bonhams fled to Connaught, another of them into Leinster while the third continued its long and lonely trek into Ulster. It will be seen, therefore, that of the 4 bonhams, one went into each of the 4 provinces of the country.

As for the old "Mammy" she raced towards Limerick City. Then she faced north-east and continued her course almost parallel with the Shannon until she reached Sligo where she halted. On her course she kept to the valley as much as possible and headed for woods and coverts and any other objects which she 

thought would hide her.

Hence the course of this famous pig from Limerick to Sligo was - and is in some places still known as "The Valley of the Black Pig".

I am also informed that references to this episode is also to be found in Colm Coille's Prophesies."

https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922068/4849534/4954398

Geoffrey de Marisco - The Man that built Nenagh Castle?

 

EDIT: I wrote this post based on secondary sources that had taken information by Hervey Morres as being accurate.

In the post I wondered was this effigy (pictured) - Geoffrey De Marsico as outlined in Morres's book (see pg 334 of the Google book version).
However the table tomb that the sketch shows no longer exists (and likely never did).

Manning in his piece in History Ireland states "A print of the effigy of a knight at Hospital, Co. Limerick, from Morres’s 1828 book. He added the fictitious tomb surrounds with the de Montmorency arms, and further embellished the print by adding an inscription to the base of the tomb surround."
https://www.historyireland.com/hervey-morres-and-the-montmorency-imposture/

Some reputable sources such as Hunt's Irish Medieval Sculpture Figures records the effigy as De Marisco and so does the Trinity website.
http://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/38941/ertk2167.jpg?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

The SMR note on archaeology.ie also notes it as De Marisco.

However I personally would be thinking, based on the fraud / embellishment shown to date in my other posts in relation to sketches in this book, that this needs to be called into question.

https://www.facebook.com/Thetipperaryantiquarian/posts/pfbid02z9w8jAvBnPNECKC18NQprgTTXmQz7vFTyLMRUPXR7HLLegWqMGsMCRbXi4moL7Wpl

To follow the thread on Hervey Morres
https://www.facebook.com/Thetipperaryantiquarian/posts/pfbid024i1Jgv3bh3xwM8HcREVcPAtr8pgyUk8Bs5nh37FCTsz7gmUZGEUpM6rs4KZLY6rJl

So the big takeaway for me is to check your sources and try to go back to the primary source if possible.

It also shows that even supposed sketches of monuments drawn at a certain date aren't 

Is this an effigy of the man that built Nenagh Castle 800 years ago?

This effigy of a Knight is located in the Church of the Hospital of Any in Hospital Co. Limerick.
It is believed to be the figure of Geoffrey de Marisco, an Anglo-Norman knight who founded the Hospital in 1215.

Geoffrey seems to have connections to the Tipperary area in that possibly either himself, his father (or maybe a brother) was also known as Jordan de Marisco, who the town of Cloughjordan was called after (he owned a tower-house there).

It may have been his son William (or another Jordan) that married a daughter of the Lord of Latteragh as a William de Marisco is listed at the tower-house of Latteragh in 1254 (He was granted a weekly market here in 1254).

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Marisco,_Geoffrey_de_(DNB00)

The surname De Marisco later became Morris, Morrissey or Fitzmaurice.

The connections are a bit sketchy as I've read other versions to the source above but it is fair to say that the De Marisco's / Morris family had strong connections with the Tipperary area.

This link here even suggests that he may been responsible for building Nenagh Castle?

https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/message-board/history

Update:
A History of Hospital and its Environs by Michael F. O'Sullivan seems to disagree with this idea (pg10), it states
"The Knight in the Corner
The effigy of a knight in armour of the period, in the north eastern corner of the abbey, is probably from the tomb of Roger Outlawe, Grand Prior from 1315 - 1340. Prior Outlawe was the first Grand Prior that we know to have been definitely born in Ireland. His family, one of recognised standing and wealth, had been established in Kilkenny for over 100 years before he was born.
Roger Outlawe was one of the most notable men of his day in Ireland and held many of the highest offices in the state. His services in the field against the forces of Edward Bruce were rewarded by crown grants and leases, and though much of his land was laid waste during the war, he successfull made good the damage."

Update:
The more up to date paper "The archaeology of the Irish Hospitaller preceptories of Mourneabbey and Hospital in context" by Eamonn Cotter featuring in the book Soldiers of Christ seems to confirm that the above effigy is Geoffrey de Marisco.
pg 119
"standing in the south-east corner, is of a knight and lady, dated by Hunt to the second half of the thirteenth century and said by him be 'the earliest double effigal tomb in Ireland, and perhaps earlier than any in England also'. The second effigy is of a single knight, dated by Hunt to 1260 and discussed elsewhere in this volume by Paul Caffrey. Hunt suggests it represents a member of the de Marisco family, one of whom - Geoffrey - founded this preceptory in 1215. A nineteeth - century genealogy of the de Marisco family shows an illustration of the effigy lying on a chest-tomb and specifically identifies it as representing Geoffrey de Marisco. Hunt cites another source, Memoirs of the family of Grace, as showing an illustration of the effigy on a tomb-chest, but concludes that the tomb-chest is 'probably imaginary'. Significantly, a photograph in Trinity College Dublin's online Edwin Rae collection shows the effigy lying in a niche in the north wall, near the north-eastern corner of the church, a common location for a founder's memorial. This may have been its original position and it is likely that it does indeed represent Geoffrey de Marisco, who died in France in 1245."

Caffery in "Visual culture of Hospitaller Knights of the Priory of Ireland" also in the same book above then states on pg 155
"There are the remains of three effigy tombs in the ruins of the church of the preceptory of Any dedicated to St John the Baptist at Hospital, Co. Limerick. The preceptory of Knockainy or Any was founded by Geoffrey de Marisco (d. 1245). in 1200 and the most intact effigy is traditionally associated with him. Plates of the ruins and the effigy were engraved to illustrate Hervey de Montmorency Morres' romantic Genealogical memoir of the family of Montmorency styled de Marisco or Morres (1817) complete with an elaborate tomb decorated with the Morres arms, consisting of a cross between four eagles (fig. 8.5)."

The confusion in O'Sullivans book may be as a result of the following

pg 157
"One of the other tombs may have been sculpted for Roger Outlaw (d. 1341), prior of Kilmainham (1317-41) who died at the hospital at Any and was buried there. There is also a large double effigy tomb depicting a knight and his dame."

So it is likely then that there is an effigy of Geoffry de Marisco and also of Roger Outlaw.