'Our Lady & child, with St Elizabeth & St Barbara' - St Mary's, Dorset Harry Clarke (1889-1931), Ireland's best known stained glass artist.

St. Brigid portrayed as a striking woman in robes of royal blue with golden embroidery - Harry Clarke, Geneva Window.

St Joan: O God that madest this beautiful earth, when will it be ready to receive Thy saints? How long O Lord, how long? - Geneva, Panel 2.

Synge’s lovers hold hands and sway against a dramatic night landscape. #moon #stars - Harry Clarke, Geneva Window, Panel 3

'The dark curtain of night moved noiselessly, and the three angels stepped nobly in the firelight.' The Demigods by James Stephens #poet

Geneva, Panel 5: #Yeats' Countess Cathleen is portrayed in ornate robes of red, purple & blue. To the left is the patriot Robert Emmet.

A magnificent angel stares at the bitter chalice before him. From 'Agony in the Garden' by Harry Clarke. Díseart Institute, #Dingle.

#Wolves lived in #Ireland long after extinction in Britain, earning the nickname 'Wolfland'. They were revered in myth until extinction 1786.

The grey #wolf stalked the ice sheets of prehistoric Ireland long before humans arrived: the earliest Irish remains date to 34,000BC.

In Irish folklore the wolf is associated with the wildness of nature & death. They feature in poems of the Fianna as mysterious hunters:

According to the Brehon Laws, some people in Ireland kept wolves as pets & landowners were obliged to keep wolfhounds for wolf-hunting:

Ringforts like Grianán Aileach were built primarily for the protection of animals at night, not just from raiders, but also from #wolves.

Over twenty of the 32 counties of Ireland have place-names relating to the wolf; there are also several Irish '#wolf-surnames':

The 12th c. Cross of Cong - one of Ireland's greatest treasures. In #medieval times called 'the yellow cross' for its brilliant golden hue.

Detail, Irish Cross of Cong, showing Urnes/Viking-style interlace and a gleaming eyed beast gripping the base in its jaws.

Creations in metalwork such as the Cross of Cong marked the magnificent finale of the Irish Insular #art tradition of the Middle Ages:

Cross of Cong: Commissioned by King Turlough O'Connor in the 'High-Kings w/ opposition' period to gain a cultural edge over rival kingdoms.