The Selkies of Ballynar

The sea has always intrigued me, so it is perhaps not surprising that my first fantasy novel trilogy should deal with selkies and the goings-on in a tiny coastal village in the west of Ireland.

Selkies populate the folklore of Ireland, Scotland and the Faroe Islands. In the legends of these lands, Selkie's take the form of seals when they are in the sea, but once on land, they have the ability to shed their skins, becoming beautiful men and women.

On this page, I will explore the myth and meaning of these creatures as well as giving more information on Ballynar and all of its inhabitants.

Next Time: A trip to Ireland and the birth of Ballynar


The Birth of Ballynar

Chrizette and I in Inishmaan Harbour on the Aran Isles

It is September 2013 and I'm living a dream, quite literally. I'm in Ireland with my youngest sister, Chrizette and we are touring Ireland for nine days thanks to the generous efforts of a very dear friend of mine.

Seeing Ireland had been a dream of mine ever since I was old enough to know that there was a place called 'Ireland'. My early fascination with the place led to a love of its folklore and mythology and so the allure of this place I'd never seen only grew with time.

When I finally experienced this land of mist and green rolling hills for myself, it did not disappoint. Chrizette and I chose to hire a car and tour the West of Ireland, because I perceived, quite correctly as it turned out, that the region would correspond most closely to the pictures I had in my mind.

Ferry to Another World

St. Brigid of the Hawthorn

Buttercup the Faerie cow

While some of the places we ended up were thoroughly modern, big cities, we also hit enough of the tiny, very 'Irish-looking' places to keep the whimsy in me satisfied. I loved, loved, loved Galway, the small city by the sea, but nothing could have prepared me for the enchantment the Aran Islands, just off the coast of Galway, would hold for me.

In Celtic Christianity, people often talk of the 'place of their ressurection' meaning the place where they would like to spend their last days on this earth and one day be resurrected from to be with the Lord.  I must confess to never truly understanding this concept...not until I saw the Aran Isles and I knew if I could choose my resurrection place, this would be it. It was as if somehow my soul knew this place as if it had always been in my blood and in my bones. Do not ask me how or why I don't have the answers. I only knew, somehow, this was home.

Chrizette and I spend one full day of our nine-day trip here and it was in those few hours that the seeds of what would a few years later become the PARISH OF BALLYNAR were planted in my mind.

The small roofless church on a hill became  St. Brighid of the Hawthorn and in my mind, I could clearly see a young woman holding sway here, one with long flaming red hair blowing in the sea breeze. A female vicar perhaps? Now wouldn't that be a novel concept?

 What if this female vicar, I think I'll call her ...Skye, fell in love with a handsome fisherman? Oh, wait, the fisherman has a supernatural secret of some sort.  In fact, there's something fishy about this tiny village where there is no electricity or cars and the most common mode of transport was donkey carts...

As all these thoughts were tumbling through my mind a woman appeared out of the mist approaching my sister and I and speaking to us in Gaelic. I smiled at her and told her that I regrettably could not understand her and she smiled back before kindly repeating herself in English. "It's a grand day is it not?"

"Indeed, M'am." I agreed. A soft drizzle fell around us as a soft blanket of mist enveloped us. Not great weather by South African standards, but to me, it was indeed a grand day as something new and unexpected stirred inside me waiting to be born...

Next Time: Skye Ryan - The Light Bearer
  


SKYE RYAN - THE LIGHT BEARER

Skye Ryan, the vicar of Ballynar

In my fantasy series THE PARISH OF BALLYNAR, the lead character and heroine is Skye Ryan, a vicar who is called to a tiny parish on the west coast of Ireland where the magic and the mundane live side by side.

Skye first came to my mind on the Aran Isles and is in many ways inspired by St. Brigid of Kildare. Like Brigid, Skye is a woman in a man's world, a female vicar, in 1994, when a woman in the pulpit was still a rarity. At 22 when the novels begin, Skye is still very, very young. Some might say too young to be shepherdess to an entire parish.

But despite her young age, Skye is no stranger to tragedy and loss even in Book I and her challenge is finding the strength to be God's light bearer even as she has to balance walking in two worlds, her own and the world of the seal people or selkies.   

Skye's faith as a practicing Celtic Christian and her relationship with God is her greatest strength. As is her kindness.

Me on the Arran Isle where the inspiration for Skye Ryan and Ballynar was born

In the upcoming, Book II A SELKIE'S MAGICK, Skye's journey will continue and this time she must choose between two paths - the path she chose for herself after Jack's death and the path God has for her. Along the way, she will be confronted by dangerous Shadows, the ghosts of the past and her growing feelings for her best friend Kenan, a selkie.

Can Skye find the courage to trust God enough to follow where He leads and can she find the courage to risk loving again?


Next Time: Kenan O'Ronta - Light Keeper, Guardian, Soul Friend