A new documentary on TG4 about healing traditions in Ireland will feature healers in Donegal.
The documentary, following the journey of Máirtín Tom Sheáinín across Ireland and will meet Donegal’s Mary Boyle who has the cure of Ringworm and Jane Adair who has the cure of the sprain.
The documentary also sees Máirtín meet the seventh son of a seventh son, a person whose father died before they were born, and a woman whose parents had the same surname before they were married, the reasons why the gift of healing can be bestowed on someone in the Irish faith healing tradition.
Broadcaster Máirtín will journey the highways and biways of Ireland in the new documentary Cneasaithe in search of this most hidden phenomenon, and wonders how active they are in today’s Ireland.
In this travelogue, Máirtín brings us on a mystical journey that explores how the healer was both revered and feared in times gone past. He explores stories of healing from holy wells – people who have been cured of burns, warts, corns, and bleeding and he meets some of those who have this gift of healing. He also encounters the skeptics who see this healing as nothing more than an elaborate placebo effect.
Having explored stories of chancers and miracle workers, after meeting with skeptics, historians and bone-setters, Máirtín muses over his encounters and draws his own conclusions as to the power and indeed veracity of these faith healers. There are more things in heaven and earth.
Cneasaithe is produced by Tua Films for TG4 and will air on TG4 on Wednesday 28th September at 9:30pm and will be available to watch worldwide on the TG4 Player.
