Sunday’s Well, Kilvickadownig

Just on the outskirts of Ventry, Fionn Trá or possibly Ceann Trá, is a rare and fascinating museum – the Celtic and Prehistoric Museum, currently visited by appointment only due to Covid restrictions. It’s a personal collection with some truly remarkable artefacts and well worth a visit.

However, lurking in the hedge a little further up on the other side of the road is the object of my intentions.

Sunday’s Well, Tobar Rí an Domhnaigh, Kilvickadownig

It’s treacherous walking along this busy part of the Slea Head Drive but worth pursuing as a small, long forgotten holy well lurks in a gap in the undergrowth, just metres from the road. Leaving the tarmac, the ground becomes reassuringly wet underfoot, dense with watercress and other damp loving plants, surrounded by goat willow and montbretia. And there, sitting modestly amongst the green, is what I was looking for – Tobar Rí an Domhnaigh, Sunday’s Well.

Getting close to it is difficult but I was delighted to see how intact the cement structure protecting the well is. Admittedly it’s not very beautiful but it’s still here affording some protection. The photo below was taken by the prominent folklorist Caoimhín Ó Danachair, probably in the 1960s, and shows the area around the well as clear and dry underfoot.

On closer examination of the structure, it seems the shape has not changed underneath all the greenery.

The water is abundant but scummy.

Here’s another photo from the 1960s.

I’ve not been able to find out much about this secretive well but one entry in the Schools’ Folklore Collection sheds a little light. The original entry is in Irish:

Seo mar leanas dhá thobar beannuighthe eile atá ins an paróiste. Tobar Rígh an Domhnaig i gCillmhicadomhnaig agus tobar Ciarráin thall inaice lé tráigh Ciarráinn ar an gCuan. Seo sgeul i dtaobh Tobar Rígh an Domhnaig. Bhí fear i gCillmhicadomhnaig fadó darb ainm do Seán de Mórdha. Oidhche amháin dár dearmhadar an tuisce, chuir Seán a chlann (go) cuin an tobair ag triall ar chanadh uisce. Canaidhí adhmaid a bhí san am san ann.Thugadar leo an tuisce agus cuireadh cuid do i gcorcán ar an dteine, cuin go níghidís a gcosa sar a raghaidís a chodladh. Nuair a bhí sé in am ag an uisce bheith te d’fheuchadar air, acht bhí sé cómh fuar agus nuair a cuireadh ar an dteine é. Ansann cuireadh lasán fé cuin go dtéigheochadh sé ach b’e an sgéul ceudna é. Solus geitire, a bhí san am san ann, agus nuair a d’fheuchadar air an tuisce an tarna uair leis an solus is amhlaidh a bhí breac thíos ann. Ansann d’órduigh fear a’ tighe an t-uisce a chuir sa chanadh arís agus é do chuir thar nais ins an tobar. Cuireadh an t-uisce thar nais an oidhche ceudna agus an breac cómh maith. Timcheall lé trí fichid blian na diadh sin do chonnaic Máire Ní Chonchubhair an breac trí huaire i ndiadh a chéile. Do chonnacthas ó shoin arís é oidhche spéir geallaidhe.

SFC:579:0432

With the help of my friend Finola, I have attempted to translate it as follows:

The following are two other blessed wells in the parish. Sunday’s Well and St Ciaran’s Well near St Ciaran’s strand and harbour. Here’s a story about Sunday’s Well. Long ago there was a man in Kilvickadownig called Seán de Mórdha. One night because he’d forgotten to get water, he sent his family to get water. Wooden pails were what they had then. They took the water with them and put it in a pot over the fire to warm it up so they could wash their feet before they went to sleep. When it was about time for it to be hot they looked at it but it remained as cold as when they put it on the fire. They put a flame under it to heat it but it was the same story. A rush light was what they had then, and when they looked at it the second time with the light, they saw a trout. The man of the house ordered the water to be put back in the pail and into the well. They put the water back the same night and the trout too. About 60 years ago Máire Ní Chonchubhair saw the trout three times. It’s been seen again on a moonlit night.

The story of how the water would not boil, and the accidental scooping up of the trout is a familiar one frequently told but the reference to the wooden pail and the rush light are interesting details. A little tlc and this well could easily be brought back to life. It reminded me of another well, also in Ventry, and one which is enjoying a renewal.

St Michael’s Well, Tobar Mhíchíl Naomhtha

I have visited St Michael’s Well, Tobar Mhíchíl Naomhtha, several times and it remains a personal favourite, maybe because it is so obviously well tended and much respected. It’s nice to imagine that Sunday’s Well could be so resurrected as there are many similarities.

Many thanks to Finola Finlay for her help with the translation.