Oh Danny Boy, the pipes the pipes are calling,
From glen to glen and down the mountain side.
The summer's gone and all the roses falling,
It's you it's you, must go and I must bide.

But come you back, when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow.
It's I'll be here, in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy I love you so.

And if you come, when all the flowers are dying,
And I am dead, as dead I well may be.
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread a bove me,
And all my dreams will warm & sweeter be.
If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me,
I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.
I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.

Many people suffering from mental distress do survive and recover with help, some however are not so fortunate. This online shrine sanctuary is for remembrance of departed friends and loved ones. Dedications are welcome via the Guestbook.

The image of a prayer lamp is inspired from the Sri Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It illustrates aarti, 'the auspicious lighting of lamps'. It has been chosen because it carries a wealth of connections and associations with people of all cultures who have created and sustained light, often in dark places, as a harbinger of hope and a symbol of reaching beyond our suffering and limitations.

Dymphna was born in Clogher in County Tyrone, Ireland. Her father was a local chieftain. When her mother died, her father Damon scoured the world for a suitable and equally beautiful replacement. After the search failed, his advisors pointed out to the chief that his teenage daughter had inherited her mother's looks. Driven mad by grief, Damon made advances on Dymphna. Together with her confessor, the elderly priest St. Gerebernus, she fled to Belgium. There they took refuge at a chapel near the present day site of Gheel, not far from Antwerp. However Damon's spies tracked them down and the chief set out after them. Confronting them at Gheel, he ordered his soldiers to slay Gerebernus and begged Dymphna to return with him to Ireland. When she refused, he decapitated her in a rage. Locals later buried the two bodies.

The historical basis for this story is uncertain. There are variations in the legend and it has counterparts in the folktales of many European countries. The Irish version of her name is Davnet and has given its name to the village and parish of Tydavnet in County Monaghan in Ireland, just 10 miles from her birthplace in Clogher. She is reputed to have established a church there and a Staff or Crozier (a staff surmounted by a crook or cross, carried by bishops as a symbol of pastoral office) attributed to her is now in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. Dymphna also has associations with the parish of Lavey in County Cavan, Ireland. Dymphna enters the historical record in the 13th century after a local bishop commissioned her biography. Although it is clear that he was prompted by already existing practices of veneration by locals, it is also clear the story is derived entirely from oral tradition. Fragments of two sarcophagi that supposedly bore the bodies of Dymphna and Gerebernus were found in the area, as well as a brick inscribed "DYMPNA" that was purportedly laid in one of the coffins. This may have prompted the local traditions.

The body of St. Dymphna is held in a silver reliquary in the Gheel church named in her honour, although the original church burnt down in the 15th century. The burial place of St Dymphna has long been associated with accounts of miraculous cures of mental illness. An infirmary was built there in the 13th century and to this day Gheel hosts a world-class sanatorium. A peculiarity of the treatment at Gheel from the earliest days is that patients are hosted with local residents, living and working alongside them. This is remarkable considering the attitudes of indifference and hostility to the insane of the time. St. Dymphna is also known as "Dimpna" or "Dympna".

St. Dymphna's feast day is the 15^th of May and she is the patron saint of those with a mental illness.

Source: Various web sites including Wikipedia