This article is from page 48 of the 2013-12-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 48 JPG
IT WAS Bah Humbug and goodbye to any curse that Biddy Early might have over the Clare hurling on the last Saturday of September when the All-Ireland was won, but there was no keeping the bould Feakle woman down in the earliest days of October.
All because while the county was still on a natural high following the All-Ireland final victory over Cork, the county was preparing to enter the stratosphere with the news that a new form of cannabis has been named after famous Banner witch, Biddy Early.
The seed, one of five new strains developed in recent years by Magus Genetics in Holland, was described as growing to between 1.8 metres and 2 metres high and is ready for harvest in early October.
Selling and buying cannabis seeds is currently legal in Ireland but cultivating these seeds for person use of sale is a criminal offense. The Biddy Early strain has been specially bred to allow it to grow outdoors in a European climate.
Biddy Early is synonymous with Clare hurling because of the 81-year curse which the East Clare woman placed on the Banner county.
According to the Marijuana.com website, the Dutch company chose the Biddy Early name because her connection with witchcraft.
“Biddy Early is named for a 19th century woman accused of witchcraft, whose story became the subject of folk ballads and entered Irish legend. Magus, from the Latin for ‘priest’ or ‘sorcerer’, felt kinship with Biddy Early’s plight given the similarity between the witch hunt hysteria in times past and the current war on drugs.
“Biddy Early is the first variety that Magus Genetics specifically formulated for outdoor gardening in temperate regions. Although an even mix of sativa and indica, this plant exhibits the strong lateral growth typically seen in sativas.
“Biddy likes to branch out. The branches are very elastic and pliable, easily trained or tied like vines to suit the available space. Outdoors, this suppleness makes the plant storm proof or resilient to harsh weather,” the website stated.
The seeds are no longer available from Magus Genetics who have transferred distribution rights for Biddy Early to another Dutch company, Serious Seeds.