Seldom Seen © 2022, Gordon Murray

Transient light fades in Kilmacduagh abbey, as Gordon Murray reminds us not to let fleeting moments escape. “Seanfhocal" is Irish for proverb, literally meaning, "old word." Waiting for the moment to compose this image, Murray recalls the Gaelic proverb, “An rud is annamh is iontach.” It translates as, “what is seldom is wonderful.”

Arrowslits, the height of a man, and a palm's width, are visible in the stone walls. The slits once allowed medieval archers to fire arrows in defense—but here, arrows represent the ability to reach out and communicate over great distances and time. The slits are singular sources of light in the castle. The gift of God’s light illuminates the stone, and symbolizes his benevolence and favor toward us. Murray carefully reveals only five arrowslits in the wall. The number is said to represent grace, as the bible’s first books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, are also known as the Pentateuch, or, Torah.