Magic in the Mountains

Here is a story my brother Kevin tells about an experience he had in the Wicklow Mountains. I'm including a photograph of the stone itself, which he took in 2005. The tale will reveal that a certain sensibility expressed in my books is shared by others (indeed, I would say all) in my family. "One day while rambling on my own in the Wicklow Mountains, I decided to climb Tonelagee, the third highest mountain in the chain. While I was climbing, a dense fog descended. The fog was so thick that I could only see about three feet in front of me. I was near the top of the mountain and was very aware that dangerous cliffs were nearby. For a moment the mist thinned and I briefly glimpsed a tall man in dark robes about twenty feet away. I walked toward the apparition but the fog closed in again. When I got to the point where he should have been, I found a thin flat Standing Stone about three feet high and two feet wide. The Stone is about five feet away from the cliff edge. I turned and walked the other way as the fog lifted." Some members of my family believe the vision was of a Druid. I believe it was St Kevin, after whom my father and brother were named, wearing monkish robes. Afterall, the Wicklow Mountains are also called St Kevin's Way, as they cradle Glendalough which was his holy place. (Yes, that's St Kevin in The Light-Bearer's Daughter.)