Fairy Bridge (Isle of Man)

Fairy Bridge

Fairy Bridge on the A5 road.
Location A5 road, Isle of Man
Coordinates 54°06′52″N 4°35′43″W / 54.11444°N 4.59528°W / 54.11444; -4.59528Coordinates: 54°06′52″N 4°35′43″W / 54.11444°N 4.59528°W / 54.11444; -4.59528
Location of Fairy Bridge in Isle of Man


Fairy Bridge, Isle of Man[1] (Manx: Ballalona - Glen Farm [2]) is located on the primary A5 road Castletown to Douglas Road and is situated on the parish boundary of Santon and Kirk Malew and also the Sheading of Rushen in the Isle of Man.

Castletown Road

The "Fairy Bridge" better known to tourists, is that in the parish of Malew on the A5 road from Douglas to Castletown just below Ballalonna Bridge in Ballalonna Glen on the Santon Burn.

A superstition is to greet the fairies (an English term for the Mooinjer Veggey; never called fairies or ferrish by the Manx and not of similar disposition to the English fairies) when crossing the fairy bridge; it is considered unlucky not to greet them.

From the 1950s it was reportedly the custom to advise a visitor of the myth on the journey south from Douglas or north from the airport. The timing the story was such that one was required to say "Good morning Fairies!" just as the teller and his guest(s) began crossing the Fairy Bridge. This would subsequently be repeated by the same or other tellers, leaving visitors perplexed as to the tellers' beliefs.

Like many local superstitions on the Isle of Man, the Fairy Bridge myth is changing with the influx of new residents. It has always been a whimsical practice, never taken too seriously by visitors, despite food writer A.A. Gill's repetition in London newspaper "The Times" of an urban myth that taxi drivers will stop if the passenger does not greet the fairies.

Motorcycle racers and spectators to the annual TT and Manx Grand Prix races tend to take the ritual seriously, in most cases making a point of visiting the bridge before setting up for practice and the races. In an example of confirmation bias, mishaps and crashes are readily attributed to the fairies' displeasure; likewise lucky escapes.

It has been suggested that the location was on the boundaries of the land of the nearby Rushen Abbey and the greeting is a folk memory of crossing oneself at the sight of the crucifix marking the boundary of the monastery's land. This superstition may possibly have arisen at this location during the 19th century in response to the large number of tourists visiting the Island.

Kewaigue

'Real Fairy Bridge' near Kewaigue

The now commonly known '"Real" Fairy Bridge', shown as the 'Fairy Bridge' on old Ordnance Survey maps, is located in the parish of Braddan across the Middle River near to the footpath from Oakhill to Kewaigue.54°08′15″N 4°31′19″W / 54.13750°N 4.52194°W / 54.13750; -4.52194

References

  1. ↑ Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie. Volume Five Sheading of Rushen (Kirk Malew with Castletown and Ballasalla), Kirk Arbory ) page 110 Kirk Malew by George Broderick (1999) Manx Place Names Study, Max Niemeyer Verlag Tubingen ISBN 3-484-40138-9 (Gesamtwerk) 3-484-10132-X Druck: Das Weihert-Druck GmbH Darmstadt, Eiband: Siegfried Geiger, Ammerbuch "FAIRY BRIDGE OS1870 4585 SC3071 ONB 1957. A small bridge just south of Ballaglonna bridge. A tourist attraction. Orginial bridge in the vicinity, but crossing the Santan Burn from earlier abbeyland of Malew into king's land in Santan"
  2. ↑ Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie. Volume Five Sheading of Rushen (Kirk Malew with Castletown and Ballasalla), Kirk Arbory ) page 40 Kirk Malew by George Broderick (1999) Manx Place Names Study, Max Niemeyer Verlag Tubingen ISBN 3-484-40138-9 (Gesamtwerk) 3-484-10132-X Druck: Das Weihert-Druck GmbH Darmstadt, Eiband: Siegfried Geiger, Ammerbuch 'glen farm' Mx balley glionney, G. gleann, viz baile gleanna

External links

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