St Kyren & St Molua, two holy wells near Ardagh

Two contrasting wells today, one recently restored, the other quietly being left to its own devices in woodland. First we went in search of St Molua, patron saint of Ardagh – yes, the place where the astonishing chalice was discovered in 1868. All was very quiet as we parked in the village. On inquiring about the well, we were directed to look for the barrels outside the pub then nip down the alleyway and through the graveyard. The instructions proved good.

St Molua’s Well, Ardagh

A path skirts the graveyard as it always has done:

In a small cemetery adjacent to Ardagh village stands the almost demolished ruins of an old church, which may have been built by Saint Molua, who is the patron St. of my parish. This Saint is supposed to have lived somewhere in this church-yard for some time, and he is supposed to be buried here also. There is a well nearby, and judging from its situation, and from the cross that indicates it, It may be ascertained that it was a holy-well used by the Saint.

SFC:102:0487

An arch with wild foliage hints at things to come.

An attractive carved plaque assures us we’re on the right track..

The bird is significant to St Molua and there seem to be two reasons for this. One charming:

Once there lived in Ireland a saint named Molua, who loved all living creatures, and was of all living creatures beloved. On the day of his death it chanced that a certain Holy man was walking the woods, and he saw a little bird perched on a bough and making a great lament. ‘Ah me, he said. ‘What can have happened, I will not taste food ’till it be revealed’. Then an angel appeared to him and said. ‘Be no longer troubled , O Cleric, Molua is dead and all living things bewail him for he loved everything that lives and breathes. Throughout his life, he never killed any creature, great or small. Therefore men mourn not more for him than do the beasts and the little bird thou seest yonder’. 

SFC:182/3:0487

The second story more alarming, though it seems the patron saint was responsible for this burst of cursing:

There are a lot of holy wells in this district. There is one in Ardagh, it is in honour of Saint Molua who was a saint that lived in Ardagh long ago. He had a school and a church there. There is a story told about the well. One day as Saint Patrick was passing through Ardagh he met a woman with a bucket of water which she got from Saint Molua’s well, he asked her for a drink of water and she would not give it to him. As he was leaving Ardagh he left a curse on it, that there would be a dead person found at the well every Monday morning. The people of Ardagh got frightened and they went after Saint Patrick to ask him to take away the curse. But he said he could not and instead of a dead person, there was a dead bird found every Monday morning at the well.

SFC:350:0487

Another version describes how it was St Molua who persuaded St Patrick to slightly modifying the curse so that birds suffered rather than humans. This must have surely grieved the gentle Molua again represented with a bird on another plaque, this one on the well itself.

The well is covered by an imposing stone wellhouse surmounted by stepped whitewashed blocks topped by a cross. A white metal gate gives access to the water which is quite difficult to reach.

The water is fresh and clear and can be seen flowing out from the well under the grid. It holds a cure for sore eyes and the level of water is said to rise when fine weather is coming, and fall when bad weather is on the way.

The main pattern day was the eve of St Molua’s feast day, 3rd August. It was once observed as a parish holiday, attracting large crowds. There is a short descriptive paragraph in the The Weekly Observer, Newcastle West, 1916:

On Sunday next the great Patron takes place at St Molua’s Blessed Well, Ardagh. The old village will be up and doing on the occasion and sports will be held. After the devotions, there will be exhibitions in hurling and football, foot-racing and Irish step-dancing. The Newcastle West and Castlemahon bands will attend and play a grand selection of Irish airs.

The Weekly Observer, Newcastle West, August 1916

The pattern had died out by the 1930s when the well seemed to have been used mainly for drinking water, but was revived in the 1990s by the parish priest, Father Dan Lane. The site was extensively renovated in 2011 when the wellhouse was remodelled, the arch built and seating provided. Signage refers to the current round which include markers on the ground, each referring to a specific part of the body, number 7 being the well itself:

1. is for eyes 2. heart blood lungs 3. liver stomach pancreas 4 fertility 5. hips 6. knees 7 spiritual healing. Pilgrims are advised to say one Our Father, One Hail Mary and One Glory be at each point and at number 7 say a Hail Holy Queen.

The round is completed by reciting St Molua’s prayer:

Lord God, through the intercession of St Molua, light up my darkened soul. Heal my wounds and strengthen my weaknesses. Console me in times of hardship and ease my troubles, Give me the vision to see things as part of Your eternal plan. Amen.

Signage on site

The well is not in it original position, which was about 250m away, and seems to be one of many in County Limerick that moved when a woman washed clothes in it. It reappeared in its present position which was once an open field, and has changed considerably since this photo was taken, probably sometime in the 1950s.

Reference is made in the folklore to a large ash tree behind the well which has already vanished at this date.

St Kyren’s Well, Clonagh

The second well lay in the townland of Clonagh, north east of Ardagh and the patron comes under various names: St Kyren, St Ciarán, St Kieran. It involves an interesting walk along what is now a greenway but was originally part of the old Rathkeale to Ardagh railway. Cutting across the fields, the land changes and is noticeable for rocky outcrops and little copses, looking very similar to when this photo was taken, again probably in the 1950s.

We headed for the copse and sure enough there below us was the distinctive shape of the wellhouse, nestling under the protective spread of a large chestnut tree.

The wellhouse is apse-shaped, a bit worse for wear, its rusty door hanging off its hinges. An empty shrine embedded in the wellhouse, complete with faded traces of blue paint, adds to the air of neglect. A small metal cross lies at a slightly skewed angle on top.

The well, accessed through a very narrow opening, was choked with leaves but there was still plenty of water within.

The water was believed to remain fresh for many years and held various cures, best drunk for nine days in succession:

The water is considered efficacious to cure sore eyes, sore feet and to restore health by bathing the affected parts in it. No petition is granted unless the water is drank as a completion to the rounds. It is brought away by most people and applied to the affected part and drank for nine consecutive days. Local people use it to make tea and draw it away in buckets, but not in large quantities.

SFC:229-231:0501

It’s interesting to read that it was used for making tea, generally considered taboo.

The well is dedicated to St Ciarán of Clonmacnoise who was said to have passed through here on his way to visit his foster mother, St Ita, at Killeedy. Once attracting large crowds, a pattern was held here on his feast day, 9th September. Seven rounds of the well were required:

The rounds are paid from left to right. Seven stones are picked up to mark the seven rounds, and one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s said, for each round and a stone is dropped in front of the well until the seven rounds are paid.

SFC:229-231:0501

This evocative photo is also from the National Folklore Photographic Collection.

Although the well looks very different today this description, written in 1934, accurately describes the above image:

A broken wall surrounds the well, which was built by Mr. Hartigan, father of the present owner of the well land. The well itself is covered with a hood of stone. In a niche near the top is placed a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the back of the well is a horse chestnut tree. and several white thorn bushes. Three groups of the latter grow in pairs one left and right of the well, and the remaining pairs at the entrance. In the little stream running from the well is an elder tree growing amongst the white thorn bushes … In a little shelf in the wall of the well, the following offerings in completion of rounds may be seen:- medals, rags, laces, buttons, matches, pennies and beads. On the east wall of the well is a small picture of Our Lord being taken down from the cross.

SFC:229-31:0501

I wonder what became of the shrine and when the current little niche was carved. There’s no sign of the door but there are alcoves for cups, now missing. The chestnut tree remains although the whitethorns have thinned.

The well is not in its original position and, like St Molua’s Well, it moved when a woman washed clothing in it – was it the same laundrywoman? 90 years ago the site of the original well was easy to distinguish:

Local tradition says that the well removed about ten yards farther down in a N.E. direction, because a woman washed clothes in it and that the water would not boil afterwards.On the hill where the old well was supposed to be, is a large rock with a hollow in the centre and a path of uneven stones about 1 1/2 yards long and 20″ wide. This is supposed to mark the former position of the stream from the well.

SFC:229.231:0501

The rock sounds like a bullaun stone but unfortunately the day was running away with us and was getting dark at this point so we had not time for further exploration. Nor did we have time to visit the ruins of the old church some 300m away – an underground passage way said to connect it with the well so that the monks could go about their religious duties without anyone seeing them. Looking on the historic OS maps a path, albeit above ground, clearly runs from the well to the walled graveyard. There’s some interesting folklore surrounding burials at the church. The last person buried was expected to bring water for the dead and was only relieved of their duties upon the next burial.

And finally a story of a fairy woman:

About thirty five years ago, one afternoon a lady was seen at St. Kyran’s well. Three men who were working on the railway, nearby saw her. They beckoned and called her but she took no notice of them.One of them said that he would go up to her. He went and when he had arrived she had disappeared. He looked in all directions over the wide stretch of country which surrounded the well but no trace of her could be seen. When he went home that night he fell ill and on that day week he was dead because he interrupted the fairy woman at the holy well.

SFC:235:0501

It still feels like a place where magic could take place.

The locations of theses well can be found in the Gazetteer.