It’s funny how the markers of a childhood steeped in religion still emerge occasionally

As a child growing up in Ireland, being Catholic was as much a part of my identity as being Irish was. I didn’t give either a great deal of thought, nor felt the need to interrogate my Irishness or my Catholicism. I accepted it as the cultural landscape in which I lived; the road signs marked as Gaelige, the grottos dotted throughout the countryside — both were given equal importance.

It’s funny how, even as someone who doesn’t identify as Catholic any more, the markers of a childhood steeped in religion still emerge occasionally. I’m drawn to the symbolism of crosses, bearing two such tattoos on my body.