North Kerry Escapade Part 2

The second part of our day trip around the tip of North Kerry and refreshed with a bowl of soup in a supermarket somewhere rural, we paid a quick visit to Lislaughtin Abbey.

It has seen better days but even in a derelict state it was apparent how fine it must once have been. The graveyard surrounding the ruins is still in use.

There was once a holy well nearby dedicated to the patron saint, St Laichtin or Lachteen (one of those spelt in a large number of ways). This has since vanished but the story remains and it’s a good one:

Long ago there was a monastery in Lisloughtin and there were many monks there. The chief monk was Saint ‘Laictín’. These monks were called Franciscans because they were called after Saint Francis. The Abbey is now an old ruin covered over with ivy and there are people buried there. Saint ‘Laichtín’ was a very pious man and he was so holy that God granted him a special gift which was in his small finger. He cured several people with his finger and the people came from all parts of Ireland to him to be cured. When the saint died his finger was preserved and it never decayed. After several years the finger was lost and it was never found after. There is a well in the land of Mrs. Sullivan called Saint ‘Laichtín’ well. There was a bull in the field of the well and he killed many people. One day as the Saint and his followers were passing the field the bull came up to him and went down on his knees before him and he never killed anyone after. His feast day falls on the 17th* March but it is not honoured now and it is said he lived in the 6th century. There is a holy well called after him in Asdee also. There is a townland called after him named Lisloughtin.

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• His feast day is usually considered to be 19th March.

How sad that the miraculous finger has vanished but there does remain a remarkable reliquary – the Lámh Lachtáin or Shrine of St Lacheen’s arm.

It dates from 1120 AD and is made of yew, hollow inside to house a sliver of arm bone. The hands is cast in bronze with exquisite details. I have encountered St Lachteen before in the Kilnamartyra area of Cork where he is patron saint. The reliquary was housed in the parish church of Donoughmore originally and can now be seen in the National Museum in Dublin. It is a gorgeous artefact with particular care shown towards the elegant fingers. Has the finger of Lislaughtin somehow turned into the arm of Donoughmore?

The bull is also an interesting story – there seem to be quite a few bull encounters in North Kerry. And we’re about to meet another one.

On to Astee, also written as Asdee, where a holy well there claims to have several different patrons – St Lachteen as mentioned in the extract above, but also St Senan, St Luke, St Owen and St Eoin (usually referred to as St John).

St Eóin’s Well, Tobar Naomh Eóin, Toberruane

The area is rural and we were given a noisy greeting by the small but ferocious keeper of the well, highly suspicious of our activities. Maybe he was just telling us how the well was one of those that had moved from its original position: another case of disrespectful and inappropriate clothes washing. The well was reputed to have been either across the road or by a nearby bridge.

The well currently lies across the road from the farmhouse and is approached through a gated ivy-clad arbour, the lettering on the gate, which once announced holy well, now rather wonky.

Walking through the field, past signs that pilgrims still gather for mass, the well is to be found

at the far end, surrounded by a wooden fence and a lot of shrubs, including whitethorn bushes.

An ivy-clad shrine containing a statue of the BVM looks down on proceedings.

The well is below ground level, circular and nicely constructed out of thick blocks of stone. The water is fresh and clear and contains a cure for sore eyes and rheumatism.

There are many holy wells in this locality to which people who have diseases go to be cured. There is a well in Asdee called ‘Saint Senan’s Well’. The well is visited by people every year. They leave pieces of cloth on a bush which is growing beside the well. The water of the well is good for curing rheumatism.

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This next rather graphic account describes a cure – note that the well here is referred to as St Luke:

There are many Holy Wells in this parish. A few nights ago I heard an old man telling about Saint Luke’s well’ in Asdee. He said there is a cure in the water and he told us how they found it out. One day a man who was blind in one eye went to the well and started to do the rounds. When he had the rounds finished he washed his eye with the water from the well. After a while the eye was cured and when he opened his eye he saw the lump that was in it swimming in the water, and after a while a fish came to the top of he water and carried the lump away with him. Every year the people go to the well and bring a bottle of water with them.

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An article in The Kerryman from 2017 recounts how in the1880s a Protestant family had servant girl who was going blind. She was taken to the well, made her rounds and duly regained her sight. Her master had a horse who had become blind and he took it to the well – the horse received its sight only for the master to go blind. (The Kerryman: 22.6.17)

The well is dedicated to St Eóin, or St John (though there are other contenders for patron as has been seen) and pilgrimage is still made to the well, mainly on Saturdays in May, St John’s Day, 24th June and Michaelmas when rounds are paid:

There is one holy well in the parish. Its name is Tobar Naomh Eóin. It is in the townland of Asdee. The field in which it is situated belongs to John Dillon. People still visit the well on certain days – the Saturday before May-day, the first Saturday in May and before St. John’s day. Rounds are performed and prayers said. You should go round the well three times and say a rosary while you are going around. This should be done three times. There is a story told about the well.
Story.
One day as St. Eóin was saying Mass by the well the priest hunters came along. The people got afraid but St. Eóin told them not to be afraid and when he had Mass finished he mounted his horse and the horse rose up into the air and came down on top of Cnoc an Áir. People have been cured at the well. The well is especially recommended for the cure of sore eyes. Invalids and people generally drink the well-water. They never bathe in the well but they rub it to the affected part. Relics are left behind – pieces of strings, medals, and holy pictures.

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The story of the mounted St Eóin flying through the air is rather fabulous and Cnoc an Áir is a striking presence wherever you go in this remote tip of North Kerry.

As usual, it was traditional to leave offerings behind having completed the rounds:

There are many holy wells in this locality. People who have diseases go to them to be cured. There is a holy well in Asdee, “St. Senan’s Well”. The water in the well is as cold as ice in the warmest weather. There are prayers to be said, they consist of three Rosaries. While saying the prayers you must go round the well 9 times. The water of the well is specially for the eyes. People who pay rounds usually leave a medal, holy picture near the well. Some people leave a bit of string any colour or a tassel of a shawl. The rounds are paid on Saturdays but there are two special days the Saturday before May day and the Saturday before November day.

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The tradition is kept up and there are an assortment of candles, rosaries and medals. Rags are also tied to nearby bushes. A blessed trout has been spotted  – a rather handsome golden one, 10 inches long according to Walter G Brenneman. He, along with his wife Mary, visited the well in the early 1980s and interviewed an 80 year old woman who recounted visiting the well on her wedding eve.

… Consider the case of a woman my wife and I interviewed in AStee West, North Kerry . On the eve of her wedding she went to meditate at St Eoin’s well. She sat on the grass before the well, and out from out of a nearby bush there sprung a golden trout, moving on its tail as a salmon skims the across the surface of the water. The trout leapt into the water and disappeared. From the spot where he disappeared, there arose a continuous stream of bubbles. These are considered to be full of power and no doubt refer back to the na bolcca immaiss, or mystic bubble of inspiration of the Well of Segais.

Dwelling, Place and Environment, Walter G Brenneman, 1985

The woman told them that she believed the trout was the embodiment of the saint himself. Caoimhín Ó Danachair has one last interesting piece of information and describes how:  A man, wishing to stop pilgrims reaching the well, released a savage bull. The bull ignored the pilgrims, but charged and killed the man. (Holy Wells of North County Kerry, 1958)

A potent well, and an annual Mass is still held here on the 24th June.

Edit: Further research has found the little village of Asdee was at the centre of the odd phenomenon that occurred in the 1980s in Ireland, that of moving statues – see this post Stranger Things: Apparitions & Visionaries for more information.

A revisit in October 2024 and I went to check out the statues in the church. All calm today.

And Asdee is said to be the homeplace of Jesse James, a place full of unexpected interest.

The well was looking good and the guardian was still feisty.

Well of Treachery, Fells Well, Tobar Feille

Skirting around Cnoc an Áir, the next well lies up on the slopes of the mountain with dramatic views out to the estuary of the Shannon.

The well is right on the roadside overseen today by two equine muses.

It is surrounded by a rough stone wall, a bit tumbled down and the well itself is tucked into the road bank behind it. It is lintelled and nicely constructed.

The well is circular and full of water. It is a chalybeate well, rich in minerals but is classified as a holy well in the Archaeological Inventory for North Kerry. It seems to be named after the man who discovered it, a Mr Fell, who according to Charles Smith in his History of Kerry, 1756: made a trial of its virtues in scorbutic cases, like German spa at the fountainhead.I’m not sure that this is the same chalybeate well but this description gives a little more information:

The Ballylongford spring is described by Dr Enright, as of some value in dyspepsia and chlorosis, and that near Tarbert, as containing iron and free carbonic acid.

Dr R Kane: The Irish Watering Places, Their Climate, Scenery and Accommodation, 1845

The Archaeological Inventory records the name as Tobar Feille, Well of Treachery but I’ve not been able to find out any more information as to how it may have been given that intriguing name.

I’m not sure that this is the same chalybeate well but this description gives a little more information:

The Ballylongford spring is described by Dr Enright, as of some value in dyspepsia and chlorosis, and that near Tarbert, as containing iron and free carbonic acid.

The Irish Watering Places, Their Climate, Scenery & Accommodation, Dr R Kane, 1845

The Archaeological Inventory records the name as Tobar Feille, Well of Treachery but I’ve not been able to find out any more information as to how it may have been given that intriguing name.

Well of the bush, Tobar na Craoibh

We carried along the road, still pressed up against Cnoc an Áir, to the next well, Tobar Craoibh, Well of the Bush. It’s on private land but the landowners were very accommodating and delighted that the well had visitors. It’s approached up a boreen, ascending higher onto the mountain.

The well is ringed by an earthen, grassy enclosure, two stout pillars and a metal gate topped with a cross leading inwards. Fuchsia bushes can be seen clustered inside,

Inside is quite an oddity.The well is flush with the ground and almost coffin-shaped. Above is a layered shrine, each layer made from different sized pebbles and stones, A modern rather ugly PVC window sits on top of a blue sill, missing its original statue of the BVM.

Below that the words MARIAN YEAR have been picked out in small white pebbles, and the date 1954 which explains what you need to know.

To the left a rather unloved shelf and a motley selection of flower pots. It’s all a bit homespun but this is its charm – it feels real and functional, just part of everyday life. It also feels quite ancient, enclosed in its fuchsia bower.

A circular path runs all the way around the well, where rounds are paid. Three rounds are required:

There is a blessed well near her. They say they obtain a cure for sore eyes by visiting there, and saying the usual prayers for the paying of rounds. The custom is to say three rosaries and go three rounds of the well for every rosary and also you must have good faith in them. It is called ‘Tobar na croise.’ They go there for various diseases and drink of the water and bathe the affected parts in it, this is the custom at every well.

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This entry is interesting in that the rounds appear to be anti-clockwise – very unusual as this was considered only suitable for mischief or ill intentions.

Situated on the side of Cnoc an Áir, a whitethorn bush grows over it. Rounds are paid at this well on the Saturday before May Day and on Saturday before St. John’s Day. Three rounds anti clockwise, a rosary is said each round. Specially for the eyes and head. The water is applied to the affected place drank or taken away.The offerings made at this well are coins medals and rosaries placed near the well. Pieces of cloth are tied to the bush at finish of rounds.

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One bush seems to have multiplied and there were no signs of any rags but some offerings had been left inside the alcove of the shrine and on the shelf .

Behind is an overflow channel and in front another covered channel. The stream flows off down the hill. There’s no shortage of water here!

The water is abundant, very cold and if a little scummy.

It seems to hold a variety of cures, including for sore eyes, sores in general, headaches, and aching limbs:

There is one holy well in the parish in the townland of Lahesheragh. People visit it the Saturday before May, the Saturday before St John’s and in September. Rounds are paid and prayers are said there. They go around the well nine times and they repeat a rosary for every three rounds. People have been cured of sore eyes at Tobar Na Croidhe. There is a cup at the well and the invalids drink the water and rub it to the affected part. They take home some of the water and use it for sores. People leave strings and medals tied to the bush. Money is put under the statues as an offering made. The bush never rots or decays in the winter or any other season of the year.

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It seems perfectly legitimate to immerse affected parts in the well water, hence the size and shape I suppose. Sometimes the moss was just as effective as the water as this descriptive extract shows- or maybe it was seeing the trout that did it:

One night a man called Barry went hunting a horse and he broke his leg. He was a long time lying on a settle bed near the fire and was not improving. There was a blessed well on the top of Cnoc an Óir, the name of it was Tobar na Croidhe. His mother took him on her back to this well, she brought home the moss of the well and rubbed it to his leg. She took him three times afterwards, and the third time he could walk it down. It never played on him again. His brother was sewing harness with a straddle needle. When he was pulling it out it stuck in his eye and blood spouted out of it. His mother took him to the same well and rubbed the moss to his eye. The third day he said to her I can see a trout in the bottom of the well. From that day out his eye was alright.

Tobar na Craobh and the Well of Treachery were revisited in October 2024, both sites looking good.

Sunday’s Well, Tobar Rí an Domhnaigh, Ballybunion

The final well for the day was in Ballybunion. Ballybunion was mostly closed but the cliffs were impressive, even in the drizzle. The little dot in the image is a hardy kayaker.

The well is described in an entry in the Schools Folklore Collection:

Situated in Doon West in Doon Glenn on bottom of cliff about one hundred yards from the shore. This well is supposed to have been profaned on a Saturday night. It is supposed that about one hundred years ago a woman washed clothes in the holy well and that on the following Sunday morning the well was at the opposite side of the road or pathway hence the name Sunday’s Well. No rounds are paid since then. The rounds were paid around the well as it is now situated. If the story of the well moving is right rounds were paid in front of the well not round it though as circle the original well a slightly longer but almost identical journey should be made. The well is now used for domestic purposes. The water of this well is always almost ice cold. There is no bush of any description near this well. It is said there is a small trout in this well.

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My GPS lead me to the cliff but I could see nothing particularly well-like, either above or below it though water was streaming down the hillside which seemed to be emerging form a specific spot. It’s hard  to imagine rounds being paid up there though

The water is being collected though someone has thought it okay to throw used nappies down there.

Thanks to Danny Houlihan for some information about this well:

This well can be identified as such now as you come from the Doon side of Ballybunion to the beach via the The Glen Road. Proceed around the bend in the road that leads to the beach now to your right you will a KCC Sign just below it look to the ground you will see the water seeping from it approx 15 to 17 feet beyond sign ok the council have put concrete barriers there so the streamlet of water can be seen. Water is not escaping from the cliff which is a promontory fort above you thus the well was used for that way back into antiquity.
I checked this out on a very dry day the water from the holy well still seeps out. The well is at ground level… Locals in that area including my late Grandfather used the well for fresh spring water for the house. It was said that the well was at the other side of the road and a local tale was that a woman washed her clothes in it thus the well moved to the other side of the road. Now I have found out there is another spring near cliff road and that feeds that story. A holy trout was to be seen in the well and that the cure for rheumatism as well.

The well was once stone lined but probably filled in after anti-social behaviour in the 1960s/70s.

Edit: a recent trip back in October 2024 and this rather unglamorous and forgotten site was pointed out to me as being the original position of the well.

An exhausting but fruitful day and back to Listowel for an excellent supper in the hotel and an  admire of some of the many wonderful shopfronts.

The blog will be quiet for a couple of months as I head off to New Zealand for a few weeks. Well hunting will recommence in May.

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