Lots to explore as Cork marks Heritage Open Day
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Sheela na Gigs - Irish statues of women exposing themselves
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On forgotten walls of country churches or crumbling castles throughout Ireland, the tiny figures squat unseen.
Lost in gray brickwork, obscured by ivy or moss, Sheela-na-gig stone carvings can be hard to spot in the wild but these medieval creations are in no way coy.
Typically bald-headed naked females, with hanging breasts and legs spread wide to display exaggerated vulvas, Sheela-na-gigs at first seem peculiarly out of place in the prim surroundings of a Christian church.
However, these envoys from an ancient past have a lot to teach us about Irish and northern European history, and about the pagan roots of the global festival now known as St. Patrick’s Day.
Maureen O Hare, illustrations by Sarah-Grace Mankarious, CNN • Updated 16th March 2021
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(CNN) On forgotten walls of country churches or crumbling castles throughout Ireland, the tiny figures squat unseen.
Lost in gray brickwork, obscured by ivy or moss, Sheela-na-gig stone carvings can be hard to spot in the wild but these medieval creations are in no way coy.
Typically bald-headed naked females, with hanging breasts and legs spread wide to display exaggerated vulvas, Sheela-na-gigs at first seem peculiarly out of place in the prim surroundings of a Christian church.
However, these envoys from an ancient past have a lot to teach us about Irish and northern European history, and about the pagan roots of the global festival now known as St. Patrick s Day.