What is recorded here

Ancient Thorn is a mature hawthorn standing in reclaimed pasture beside an old road in the Rathborney valley, Clare. It has appeared on maps since 1839 and is still called Saint Brigid’s tree because people believe a stone at its base once held the prints of her kneeling. Pilgrims still visit the wide branch spread, drawn less by proof than by the idea that holiness can press itself into ordinary earth and wait to be recognised.

In reclaimed pasture on the W side of an old road leading N into the Rathborney valley. Marked and labelled ‘Ancient Thorn’ on the 1839 and 1916 OS 6-inch maps. Indicated and named ‘Blessed bush and marks of St. Brigid’s knees’ on Tim Robinson’s map of the Burren (1999). This is a mature hawthorn tree up to 3m in height with a branch spread of c. 5m. Houlihan (2016, 44) noted that the tree is known locally as ‘Saint Brigid’s tree’ and that it is still visited by pilgrims, ‘having gained a reputation for holiness from a stone at its base thought by locals to hold the prints of a kneeling Saint Brigid’. The saint’s stone (CL005-168002-) was not found on inspection in 1989, but a photograph of it is published by Houlihan (ibid). Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell Date of upload: 8 October 2025

Linked to St. Brigid, the site is traditionally associated with her early monastic activity in the region, and the "blessed bush" may represent a relic or symbolic tree connected to her cult. Local tradition holds that the thorn bush and surrounding marks were sites of prayer or ritual, reflecting the widespread veneration of St. Brigid in early Christian Ireland.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.