Scregg Sheela na Gigs, Roscommon

 Sheela na Gig

at

Scregg, Roscommon

 

The artifacts listed

 lie on private property and prior permission was obtained before entering and photographing them.

So what is a Sheela na Gig?

In layman's terms that I can understand the answer is that nobody seems to definitively know what they are nor what they once represented. 

The excellent Sheela-Na-Gigs, Unravelling an enigma by Barbara Freitag starts off at the premise that they were a simplified form of Folk Sculpture representing Life, Birth and Health.

 

Quite possibly they were at one time "Christianised" over from a previously existing Pagan tradition in an attempt not to discourage early adopters of Christianity although we associate and find them today alongside two particular medieval structures, Castles and Churches.

These beautiful medieval relics are often described as "crude" carvings and while their aesthetics bear little comparison to ornately carved Angels, Weepers, Armorial plaques and assorted Tombstones to name just a few, they are nonetheless far from crude in an historical context.

The carvings are of women in various postures, often unnatural in pose and also often described as "grotesque" as well as the previously mentioned "crude." 

Both words seem a little too harsh.  

It's interesting that those words, "crude" and "grotesque" seem to  regularly appear in writings about the poor Sheela. 

This no doubt indicates the thinking processes that prevailed when the first written records and investigations into the origins of the Sheela na Gig began.

The Sheela na Gig has exposed genitalia and is often depicted using her hands to part her genitals which at times are enlarged and out of proportion to the rest of the body.

Many Sheela na Gig's have either been destroyed in repulsion or disappeared when stolen in recent decades.

 

At Scregg in Roscommon there is the wonderful opportunity of having two Sheela na Gigs to admire in close proximity to one another. They are believed to have come from the ruins of a Tower House, a type of small Irish Castle which once stood nearby.

Located close to the Sheela na Gigs is a beautiful piece of 1700's architecture.

 

It is a house, Scregg House and it is just a delight to see firsthand. 

The neo-classical doorway and unusual windows literally blew me away.

 

It is unoccupied at present and while it has previously had the benefit of some grant aid the addition of another "few bob" could go a long way in aiding its preservation for future generations to come.

A Kelly Familial plaque on one of the entrance pillars to Scregg House displays in Latin wording "Turris Fortis Mihi Deus 1763" alongside pictographic Horses and the trusty medieval Hound. 

The translation to English would read something like "God is a Tower of Strength, 1763."

Keep the wheels turning.