It’s time to hit the road again and just 15 minutes from Athlone towards Dublin is the beautiful Ballinahown Craft Village.
We were booked in to try our hand at crafting something from our own piece of bogwood — but this was no simple workshop.
To listen to Helen tell of the history of Ireland’s trees and bogs is a treat in itself and the passion with which she speaks is infectious.
She and her team work on wood reclaimed from bogs in the midlands and have fashioned pieces for dignitaries around the world.
US presidents, CEOs of major corporations, Helen has designed pieces for them all — and now she sits across the table helping me to file the grooves from a piece of bogwood.
The two hours spent with her were a life-affirming journey. Part of a north European arts and craft network, Helen’s passion is in the art of sculpting a reclaimed sacred part of our hidden heartland, the trees which sank beneath our rising bogs, and sharing that skill with others.
An unusual experience with an incredible guide, the Celtic Roots Studio is a glimpse into our Hidden Heartlands — an Ireland and heritage that deserves to be rediscovered.