Statue of St. Ita, St. Ita's Graveyard, Ballagh, Co. Limerick, Éire

My late father had a strong interest in history and that included the patron saint of West Limerick, Saint Ita. She originally came from the present day county of Waterford and a number of stories about her life continue to be told today. Some of those that my father collected can be found on a website that I started to collect online what he began writing. That effort remains somewhat incomplete for a variety of reasons with the difficulty of knowing when to stop changing someone else's work being as much part of that as the emotional loss associated with bereavement.

The statue in the photo is located in the graveyard where both my late parents were laid to rest. The place has two parts, an original section and a newer extension. It is in the ruins of a church where you will find the statue with a visitor information board beside it that tells you about the life of Ita. No sign of the original monastery buildings remains and the ruins surrounding the statue are of a later construction built over her grave. The place is still a place of pilgrimage and that proves that human associations often outlast any buildings, no matter how well constructed.