Cattle, Castles and Cranat: exploring around Ballyclogh

The day started with a visit to the outskirts of Kanturk in search of a holy well. It didn’t sound very promising:

In pasture, c. 200m S of possible church and burial ground (14106). Bowman (1934, 523) recorded holy well here, noting that ‘Rounds have been discontinued for a long time’. Well collapsed and dry; inspection made difficult by overgrowth.

And it’s not recorded on the historic maps. Still it was a pleasant journey upwards and out of the town. We parked by a huge telecommunications mast and pondered on the array of clothing seemingly left to dry on a fence. As we were having a look around we heard shouting but could see no-one. It felt a bit weird then we looked up and there were two men painting the mast! They were worried that paint might spill onto the car and those clothes were their overalls!

We moved the car and attempted to find the well. No luck – everywhere was firmly barred with large metal spiky posts and access to the field was impossible. The nearby Kilroe Cemetery (CO023-081001) was interesting though. It seems that this was built inside a ringfort and may have started out as cilleen:

In S quadrant of graveyard, on SW-facing slope. Depicted as roughly circular enclosure (diam. c. 30m) named Kilroe Grave Yard and Kilroe Burial Gd. respectively on 1842 and 1905 OS 6-inch maps; burial ground extended to NW and NE on 1937 OS 6-inch map. Subcircular raised area (internal diam. 32m NW-SE) enclosed by earthen bank (int. H 0.73m), topped by stone wall of graveyard E->NW. Bank planted with trees; modified on NE side where it forms a roughly straight line. Burials in interior, which slopes down gently to SW. According to Grove White (1913, vol. 3, 227), ‘the Field Book of 1840 records: – Kylerue Graveyard – A Danish fort lately made a graveyard for strangers.

The Mass altar was erected in 2002 and an annual mass is still held here every August. The well must surely have originally been connected in some way.

 Well of the Glen, Tubbercooragh a Glynna, Tobercooraghaglanna

The next well also looked rather obscure from the map, through fields and down by a river in woodland.

On E bank of stream, in steep-sided wooded valley. D-shaped well (3.5m N-S; 2m E-W) enclosed by stone wall (H 1.75m; Wth 0.5m) S->N and by low cliff face on E side. Overgrown and abandoned. In similar condition when visited by Grove White (1905-25, vol. 1, 140) who noted that ‘…formerly it was much frequented for the cure of sore eyes’ and ‘…according to OS Field Book of 1840, it is called Tubbercooragh a Glynna holy well’.

We stopped at the house and Pat and Monica came to our assistance. They were intrigued as to what we were doing and apologised in advance for the state of the well but they assured it was still there and that their grandson was showing an interest in restoring it. Pat gave us full instructions how to find it: pass through the wheat fields following the tramlines of the tractor then  turn left onto the old the cow road. The cow road he explained was where farmers used to take their cattle to cross the river over the ford. We set forth. The wheat field was lovely, a sight we seldom see in West Cork.

The cow road was identified by its once smart but now dilapidated gates. Everywhere was seriously overgrown.

We struggled down the side of it, clambering over fallen trees and snagging our legs on the undergrowth. As the land evened out we spotted the well, almost hidden in a leafy bower.

It was a rectangular construction made of stone. It looked very trough-like and we wondered if perhaps this was built for the cattle as they approached the ford  – but why would you need a trough if the river was so close? 

The river was currently very low but there were pockets of water and many loose stones. This was the ford, clearly marked on the maps but now very overgrown. The well is simply marked well on the 25 inch map but it is given a name in the 6 inch historic map (1829 – 41):  Tubbercooragh a Glynna. This is difficult to translate. It seems to mean Well (tubber) of the Glen (a Glynna) which makes sense, it’s the cooragh bit that’s less clear. Tinkling, foamy, winding – have all been suggested as possible meanings but cuar meaning hollow looks promising as does curragh, marshy place. Well in the Marshy Hollow of the Glen? If anyone has any other ideas I’d love to hear them.

It seems there was also a bathing pool near here. The ever reliable Colonel Grove White has a bit to say about it:

There are two holy wells in this parish, one in Ballyclogh park. It has fallen into disuse as such, but formerly it was much frequented for the cure of sore eyes. It is now almost hidden by thick vegetation, it is situated in the townland of Lisleagh, and according to Field Book of
1840, it is called Tubbercooragh a Glynna holy well. It is situated at the east side of a pond, in a plantation at the west side of the townland, and about 350 yards north of Ballyclogh Castle, up the stream. About 120 yards below the holy well is a pond said to be flagged, and to have
been a bathing place. (Vol I p140)

This photo, taken by Grove White in 1906 shows a rather wistful chap admiring the well. It looks very different, more a pool in the ground, so the stone work must be fairly modern. Today the water was was abundant but a little scummy and reputed to hold a cure for sore eyes.

Edit: Many thanks to Michael Fitzgerald for some additional information. The above is in fact a cattle trough and the real well is some 10 metres away and still looks much like did in Colonel Grove White’s photograph. So frustrating that we missed it!

Ballyclogh Castle

We returned to tell Pat we had found the well and asked him if he knew anything about the intriguing castle we had glimpsed driving in. He did. he owned it! And he gave us permission to go and explore it. It seems the well was incorporated into the park of the castle, which had been grand and ornamental in the 19th century but was now a little less so. We went to investigate,.

What an amazing place. It is actually a tower house, built in the late 16th century by the MacRoberts, a branch of the Barry family. It fell into disrepair at the end of the 17th century but was renovated in the 19th century and the farm buildings and dwelling from this period still remain in the bawn, though ruinous.

Reluctantly we pulled ourselves away and went in search of the next well: Tobernagleenagh in the nearby townland of Ballykitt.

Well of the Glen,Tobernagleenagh,

This well has a suspiciously similar name to the one just visited in Ballyclogh and I am calling it another Well of the Glen. Are they connected?

According to Grove White:

… The other holy well is in the townland of Ballykitt, and is called Tobernagleenagh. According to local tradition, a saint was passing through Kilmaclenine (about two miles to the north), and being thirsty he asked for a drink of water from a well there. It was refused. He took up the well in the tail of his gown and dropped it at Ballykitt. The water is considered a cure for all diseases. The people pay rounds here. (Vol I p 140)

Kilmaclenine sounded interesting – the site of a deserted village, a church, a fortified house, a castle and a well. Sadly we were completely thwarted exploring as the main road into  Kilmaclenine was closed. Attempts to get into the field where the well was dropped in Ballykitt a few miles away were also abandoned, as the field contained a very large bull. I suspect there are actually no physical remains of either well but the story is a good one. Here’s what Ballykitt Well looked  like in 1906.

St Cranat’s Holy Well, Tobar Cranatan

The final well on today’s agenda was in rich farmland and high up. We drove up to a bungalow and were greeted by a friendly dog. Two men were at work below shifting rocks. They directed us across the fields with instructions to head for the large tree. This we did.

A herd of frisky young bullocks came galloping over to inspect us, fortunately prevented from getting too close by an electric fence.

It sounded from the Archaeological Inventory as though this well had long been abandoned and the water was now being used for purely domestic/ agricultural uses. This proved accurate. A large concrete cylinder with various pipes coming out of it marked the original site of the well. The area was very wet and the water profuse, obviously still a good source but no signs of any holiness.

A nearby pump house showed how water was obtained.

The Schools’ Folklore Collection contains one interesting excerpt about the well:

There is a holy well in Crossfield. It is called Kilcranathan Well. It is said that a cow had calved near the well and that night a man was stealing the calf. There was a big stone near the well and when the man stood on it, it is said that the calf and himself stuck to it. The mark of the calf’s legs are still to be seen on the stone. The well is also said to have removed from one field to another. It never goes dry and there is supposed to be a cure in it. Long ago the old people used to visit it, and pay rounds to it but now no one is interested in it. The well is situated in John Farrants’ farm in Crossfield and at all times, even in the hottest day in summer the water is very cold and can be seen bubbling up from the ground at the bottom of the well. (413:0369)

The water could certainly still be seen bubbling up around the cylinder and we had just had one of the hottest summers ever. And what is it about these wells in North Cork, they are forever moving! No sign of the calf hoof prints though.

The well, and indeed the townland, is dedicated to St Cranat or Cranáid or Craobhnad. I have come across her before for there was once a well dedicated to her near Doneraile. She was the beautiful sister of St Branit, who plucked out her eye to make herself less appealing to suitors. Nothing remains of that well, nor of the tree which sprung up where she cast her eye. Interestingly, she too had gathered the well up in her skirts and dropped it somewhere else, much like the passing saint in Kilmaclenine – were they one and the same? The full story can be read here. 

The location of these wells can be found in the Gazetteer.

Many thanks to Pat and Monica for their permission to explore the well and castle at Ballyclogh. Thanks to to Pol for helping with translating.