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Sheila na Gig
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Sheila na Gig sculptures (the term itself is thought to be a corruption of the Gaelic
sAla na gcAoch -
"Sheila of the teats") are nude female figures, generally represented face on with their legs splayed and hands placed behind the thighs, the fingers opening grossly oversized vulva. They were thought to be either the symbol of a fertility cult or used to ward off the evil eye, though quite how they managed the latter is not explained. They mainly appear in the walls (usually near the main entrance door) of castles and churches, built between 1200 and 1600. To a lesser extent they are also found in round towers and on standing stones and bridges. They are also known in other parts of the British Isles, and even France, but the majority of them by far are in Ireland. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Ireland,
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