RITA DUFFY | CAILLEACH

'Inspired by Irish mythology, the present work is an image rich in magic and memories of listening to my father tell ‘out of the mouth’ stories. Cailleach - 'old woman' or 'hag' in Irish comes from the Old Gaelic, meaning 'veiled one'. A sorceress and charm-worker, she was a powerful figure in my childhood imagination. I met her on several occasions, from the girlhood narratives of Snow White, with red apples and romance to the ancient images of powerful Sheela na Gigs. No wise Irish woman ever underestimates her powers of intuition.

Folklore has it that the first farmer to finish the grain harvest made a corn doll representing the Cailleach from the last sheaf of the crop, becoming the responsibility of the last farmer to finish harvesting, with the implication they would have to feed and house the hag all winter.' 

Rita Duffy