The National Folklore Photographic Collection, available online at duchas.ie, is an invaluable source with a wide ranging variety of images including holy wells. County Limerick seems especially well documented and each of the three wells covered in this blog initially enticed me with their beautiful black and white photographs. I had high hopes for each of them.
St Brigid’s Well, Tobar Bhríghde, Stonehall
The first photograph from the collection shows a very elegant looking monument -a curved stone wall enclosing a well surmounted by a large shrine containing a statue of St Brigid. Whitethorns in blossom and another large tree encircle the well. The photo was taken at least 60 years ago, would it look the same today?
We parked and encouragingly there was signage, leading off across fields. A barricade and an electric fence initially seemed a bit daunting.
I went to inquire of a man walking his dog. Were you up here before? he asked. Oddly I had this question asked several times during this well expedition, and no, I don’t think I was. He told us to nip over the fence, skirt the field and head down into the woods. We did as instructed, first attracting the rapt attention of a small flock of sheep.
The walk across the fields was wonderful, the day remarkably sunny and fine.
The path became damp and very muddy and obviously much favoured by cattle who were fortunately on the far side of the very big field. The well emerged, the stone wall intact, the shrine looming out from the centre.
Walking around to the front, the well had hardly changed at all since the original photo was taken though the undergrowth was more rampant. The entrance was through the same attractive metal gates.
The elaborate stone, gabled wellhouse was in good condition, the life-size statue of the patron intact and covered in offerings: rosaries, rosettes, medals. It was obviously still revered.
The well lay underneath covered by an arched opening, the water clearish and leaf-strewn. It is said to hold a cure for sore eyes.
A little further research proved that the well did not always look like this.The drawing below was submitted to the Main Manuscript of the Folklore Collection in 1934 and shows a small wellhouse with curved roof and a large tank. The accompanying text describes how this was erected in 1925 by Samuel Miller, described as a Protestant. At the same time Edward Sheehan, a Catholic, put on the door and erected a small altar, in thanksgiving for a cure.
It’s also interesting to see the predominance given to the old ash tree and whitethorn bush, both now gone.
The large shrine and circular walls must have been put up sometime between 1934 and the late 1950s when the black and white photo was taken. It looks to me like the original wellhouse is still there, minus its door, the shrine erected on top of it.
It seems that originally there was a small church in the area dedicated to St Brigid and it was she who caused the well to spring up :
Tradition says that long ago St Brigid visited the district. She came up by the present church of Stonehall. She spent a night in the church. When she prayed there the well sprang up shortly afterwards. The church of St Brigid was situated about a quarter of a mile from the well, near the present roadside, at the entrance to the Coill na Fairrge bog. An old man in the district told Mr. Cornelius Normoyle of Rour said that he remembered about eighty years ago the church to be taken down. The stones of it used by the owner of the land in which the well is now situated, to build a dwelling house. When the man went to live in the house he was troubled by strange visitations. He saw an apparition of a woman on the wall of his bedroom. He thought it was the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the people said it was St Brigid who had come to him over destroying her little church. He then left the house and went to Co Wicklow. He was again troubled by strange noises. He then went to England, where he now lives.
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I wonder if it remained quiet in England. The feast day is St Brigid’s Day, 1st February and nine rounds of the well are required:
St Brigid’s feast day is the 1st February. On that day all the people pay rounds. They take with them nine stones and after each round they drop a stone. When the rounds are finished they kneel on top of the well and say their prayers. The well is situated on the side of a hill. There is a flat stone over the well. There is an iron gate at the front. In the well there is a small altar in which many objects of devotion are placed by the people who perform the rounds. There is a bush growing beside the well. A great many rags are to be seen on it, they are left by the people who perform the rounds. The water of the well is said to be very efficacious in curing diseases of the eyes.
Ibid
There was no sign of a rag tree today though it seems to have been here fairly recently as photographed by the Limerick Diocesan Heritage Project.
A large pipe leads from the well to a cattle trough, clearly seen in the drawing above. The cattle must be the best sighted for many miles around.
Lady’s Well, Tobermurry
Again, it was photographs in the National Folklore Photographic Collection that attracted me to the next well and I really hoped that it was also flourishing. How nice it looked with its circular roughly built stone wall, the spindly trees and little shrine.
It’s a Lady’s Well in the encouragingly named townland of Tobermurry, obviously still visited at the time this photo was taken sometime in the 1950s/60s.
From the aerial survey on the OS maps in duchas.ie, the well seemed to be in a copse, a long track leading towards it. We set out to investigate. The GPS led us towards a farm, and there was the track, today occupied by some large frisky cows with their smaller equally frisky calves – just where we needed to walk. As we were pondering what to do, a tractor arrived. Tom was rather surprised at our inquiry but very kindly leapt from his tractor and promised to take us, first checking our footwear. Yes, we all had wellies. It was just the calves on our side of the fence as we walked towards the copse, with Tom keeping an eye on them and their vocal mammies. As we walked he told us that the well had visitors about once every ten years and we were the first for this decade! He apologised that the well wasn’t in good condition and explained that his family were intending to restore it but we assure him that we were delighted that it was still there and were even more pleased that he should take us.
Tucked deep in a tangle of undergrowth the well was at first hard to see though Tom knew exactly where it was.
A little clearing revealed that the stone wall surrounding the well was still intact and in pretty good condition. The well was full of water which fed out into a pond nearby. It was said to never go dry and contained a little blessed fish. The feast day was the 15th August and according to Caomhin Ó Danachair (Holy Wells of Limerick) it once attracted large crowds. Apparently on one occasion the priest failed to turn up for the pattern and the local pilgrims were so annoyed they failed to turn up ever afterwards!
What was striking was the old ash tree, split in two by lightening, so Tom told us. This surely must once have featured in the rounds and been part of the sacred whole.
We left Tom to the cattle and continued to the third well.
St Brigid’s Well, Pallakenry
How appealing this well also looked from the original photos with its gabled wellhouse complete with an interior shelf jostling with statues and other offerings.
Surrounding it seemed to be a series of shrines in a similar design, one embellished with a wooden crucifix, the whole site walled and accompanied by trees.
It seemed to be sited near the old lodge gate for Cartown House.
This turned out to be very attractive in itself and was once the home of Mr Cleary who had been cured at the well and had tidied up the site and built a wellhouse in thanks, receiving a rather spectacular reward:
On last Sunday I went to see St Brigid’s well at Mellon, Pallaskenry. I was speaking to Mr. Cleary, a man who lives beside the well. He told me that he got cured of rheumatic pains at the well. He also told me that anyone who got cured saw a little fish about 6 inches long in the well. After being cured he put a cement roof over the well and planted shrubs and flowers all round it and did it up grandly. After doing it he had a lovely dream of St Brigid. He saw her in the air over the well, dressed in beautiful garments of every colour with a beautiful crown on her head.
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The well could be seen behind the lodge and we made our way to it. It was still neatly walled and large trees, one a chestnut, grew around it. A small metal gate with a decorative cross led into the compact space.
My initial disappointment was that the attractive gable of the wellhouse, erected by Mr Cleary, had gone and was replaced by a rather ugly wooden contraption.
The well below however was full of water if a bit leaf strewn.
As well as being good for rheumatism, this well also holds a cure for sore eyes and Robert availed, one of his eyes currently causing him problems.
There’s a strange story associated with this cure, one that seems to crop up quite frequently:
Once a certain Mr Baldwin who lived in Cartown house about a century ago had a horse that was blind. This man took his blind horse to the well in mocking. The horse was cured and afterwards struck dead. As for Mr Baldwin himself he was struck blind. After that people visited it frequently.
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A small fish lived in the well, good luck to those who saw him:
It is reputed to be good for eye defects and people say they are cured there. A story is told about a woman named Mrs Lynch who lived in Kildimo. This woman was blind. She heard so much about this well that she decided to go there. Early one morning she went there with her husband. Immediately after rubbing the water to her eyes she was cured. The first thing she saw was a fish. A fish is supposed to be in this well and nobody sees it except those who are cured. This cure was responsible for a great faith in the well. This happened about seventy years ago.
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The water of course would not boil and in this story from the folklore the Black and Tans come out as uncharacteristically sympathetic:
(He told) me that in the Black and Tan days the British soldiers brought in some of the water of the holy well into the house to make tea. He told them that none of the water was ever used for making tea or for any other household purpose. They did not seem to believe him. They put down the water to boil. It did not boil and they told him they were very sorry when they saw what happened. They fetched some water from another well in the locality and it boiled all night.
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Although the wellhouse had been replaced, the shrines remained intact.
Today they are filled with plastic flowers, a rather beautiful statue of St Bridget and an enigmatic infant of Prague.
The man pattern day was 1st February, St Brigid’s Day, when seven rounds were recommended:
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People go there to pay rounds on the first day of February the day of this patron saint and also on Saturdays. The prayers recommended are seven paters and aves. People walk round the well and say one pater and one ave for each round. They use to water for drinking and to rub on the parts affected. It is recommended for eye diseases but people go there expecting to be cured of almost all diseases. Some say they are cured but we do not know if there are any miracles performed there. People leave behind broken beads and ribbons as relics and sometimes small statues. There is a fine statue of St. Brigid and also a large crucifix over the well and many people go there now since it was renovated.
I really liked this well.
So three wells with three different fates: the first intact and still revered, the second not quite forgotten but in danger of slipping away and the third neglected but full of presence.
This is the last blog for 2022, wishing you all a very happy Christmas and peaceful New Year.
Cannot give good report on the efficacy of the Pallaskenry eye well, alas. Must have lost its potency after Baldwin and his horse.
Always know I’m in for a historical treat and some beautiful images when your updates show up in my email. Thank you as always for sharing your quests with those of us not in the Island, and wishing you a renewing Solstice!
I’m getting entranced by the Limerick wells, Eric – some very interesting ones. Thanks for looking.
A lovely story and beautiful photos. Thank you.
Thanks for reading Kathleen.