The Lucky Hawthorn Tree

I’ve written about Saint Patrick the last two years, so I thought I’d discuss Irish roots. The kind you get when you are 94 percent Irish, according to DNA tests, Kelly?

No, the roots of the Hawthorn tree, native to Ireland.

The Burke/O’Gara family has roots in Corskeagh, a small “township” (like a residential subdivision) near Balla, County Mayo, Ireland. Corskeagh means “the round hill of white thorns.” And true, Corskeagh, 166 acres in total, has a hill that rises 40 feet over the surrounding bottomland. The “white thorns” are from the Hawthorn tree, a native bushy, spiny tree with beautiful white flowers to herald the arrival of Spring. The blossom’s arrival means pleasant weather is on the way.

The Hawthorn blooms prolifically with a flower like our dogwood, from May to June. The tree has a life of 400 years and can serve as a hedge to keep foraging animals in the bottomland. The native Irish were banished to the hills, as that land was less productive to the English lords. That is why 15 families lived on Corskeagh’s hill (pop. 151 in 1840). The children played up and down that hill until the potato famine of 1845-52 caused the population of Corskeagh to disappear.

The Hawthorn blossom’s scent when fresh is sweet-scented, then it rots to the putrid smell of rotten meat. Yuck. Poor Irish made tea from the blossoms, and it supposedly eases insomnia and cures acne. The Hawthorn blossom was used as a sedative, an antispasmodic medicine, and a diuretic, and today is still used as a blood pressure medication.

The flowers turn to berries by October and are good for wine, jelly, chutney, and help to soothe sore throats and upset stomachs. Make sure to wait until the witches have flown over on Hallowe’en before picking the berries. I’m not saying anything bad will happen, but witches say to wait, so why take chances?

Hawthorn has some downside as well. It is bad luck to burn it, it’s thick and brutal to cut, and destroying a Hawthorn brings misfortune, for if you fell a Hawthorn, you’ll lose all your cattle, your children, or your money. For those brave enough to try, take heed: ‘Beware, beware the Hawthorn, Lest it strike you down, For if you take an axe to it, You’ll rue that you were born.’ from “Beware the Hawthorn” by Kit Barbourne and Gerald Merrowvale.

In Irish lore, a stand-alone Hawthorn was a gateway between this world and that of the fairies, through which kidnapped or disappeared humans entered and fairies could enter our world. You’ll often find stones stacked around the trunk of the tree to protect that entrance. To harm a Hawthorn could incur the wrath of the fairies who congregated there.

In 1999 Ireland moved a highway around a lone Hawthorn tree when an Irish folklorist, Eddie Lenihan, intervened and warned planners that its removal would result in motorway fatalities. Apparently, the tree was a rendezvous for fairies from Munster as they prepared to do battle with their counterparts in Connacht. Rather than tempt fate, an alternative route was found.

Superstitions? Sit under a Hawthorn on a May morning to be whisked to fairyland. The morning dew from the Hawthorn possesses special qualities on May Day and washing faces is beauty-enhancing for women and helps men become skilled craftsmen. A globe of Hawthorn twigs hung in your kitchen will protect your kitchen from bad spirits, then you can burn it and scatter the ash on your fields for luck. Hang Hawthorn in your rafters to protect against ghosts and ghouls. And Hawthorn on your boat protects against storms at sea.

I’m not sure how many of those superstitions to believe, but on top of that hill called Corskeagh on which Martin O’Gara still farms today, there sits a lone Hawthorn tree. Gateway to another world or just a tree? And where did those 151 people go?

Kelly Burke, practicing attorney, former district attorney and magistrate judge, writes about the law, rock’n’roll, and politics or anything that strikes him. These articles are not designed to give legal advice, but are designed to inform the public about how the law affects their daily lives. Contact Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com to comment on this article or suggest articles that you’d like to see, and visit his website at www.kellyrburke.com to view prior columns.

HHJ News