Ragwort and Whitethorn

This plant and tree are symbolic of the fairy population, and their presence marks the fairy boundary as well as their presence. Nóra remembers a time when a man claimed to have seen the fairies, clutching ragwort while in a fetal position. After that, the rows of ragwort were set aflame to take away the sacred fairy plant. When Seán Lynch attempts to cut down the whitethorn by Nance’s cabin, she warns him not to bring harm to the tree that belongs to the fairies, or he’ll suffer. When he cut his leg instead of the tree, the whitethorn symbolized the existence of fairies and their control over the world in which the community lived.

The Lights at Piper’s Grave

According to both Peter and Nóra, the blinking lights visible from Piper’s Grave were a bad omen...