Summer meanderings

In between all the excitement of the book finally being let loose into the world, I have had time to visit a few, mainly local, wells, which had so far escaped detection; and caught up with a few old favourites.

Ballybane Holy Well

In June Thomas Wiegandt Invited me to inspect his well in Ballybane near Ballydehob. Such wild and beautiful countryside, it was looking especially good on the day we visited.

Tomás lives in a wonderfully verdant spot and is a respecter of nature, an advocate of living off the land as sustainably as possible. The well lies close to his house and is approached through an attractively dilapidated and promising little gate.

Tucked into a steep bank, it is surrounded by bosky lushness, a tangle of ferns and wildflowers.

The well is boxed in with large slabs of stones, forming a rectangular basin; a sturdy lintel above providing the perfect place for offerings.

Tomás explained that the previous owner of the land had told him many years ago that it was a holy well and that the water was exceptionally good. I was delighted to see that the stone in front of the well had crosses scored into it, suggesting that the well had the right credentials and had once been a place of pilgrimage. My photo is not very clear but the most detailed cross is on the top left.

The water is copious and very cold and Tomás uses it for his own drinking. A trough lower down was once used by cattle.

Such a very peaceful and attractive setting but I can find nothing else out about the well – it’s not marked the historic OS maps nor is it mentioned in the Schools’ Folklore collection. I would be delighted if anyone had any more information about this potentially holy well.

Well, Sailors’ Hill, Schull

On the way up to Sailor’s Hill in Schull is a roadside well. It is tucked into a boundary wall and is flush with the ground. It has an almost circular basin and was full of water the day we visited.

The first time I went there was a ribbon hanging off the bushes but there were no signs of any offerings today. It is in a remarkable area though, and as you climb the hill there are marvels to be seen. I was very taken by this display of cetacean skulls.

Higher up a little household shrine has a charm of its own.

And the view from the very top is stunning but I can find no further information about this little well – a household well I suspect.

Caheragh Well

Another invitation, this time by Stephen, which took us to Caheragh near Skibbereen. Stephen discovered the well whilst clearing the land and had been told by an elderly resident that the the water was excellent and that it had been the only well in the area that did not go dry in the drought of 1949. It is tucked into a slope, very close to a bubbling stream. The wellhouse is slabbed and surrounded by stones but the opening is small, making access to the water quite tricky.

Whilst Stephen was clearing the site he came across a cache of old medicine bottles.

It’s tempting to think they might have had something to do with a cure but I think they are more likely to be the remains of a household dump. I can find no evidence for any holy credentials but what a gorgeous spot and the water still flows copiously.

St Brigid’s Well, Curravreeda

Doing some research for a talk recently given in Bandon as part of Heritage Week, I was intrigued about this interesting description in the Schools’ Folklore Collection:

This well is situated in our land in Curravreeda. This well was also called St. Brigid’s Well. It is about twelve yards from the main road which is called the Board of Works Road. The well is noted for the great cures that have been got from its water. Long ago there was a stone on the side of the road to show where the well was. It is said that it weighed six hundredweight. But one evening men were coming from a bowling match and they rolled the stone down the side of the hill. It is now below in the hollow near the well. I cannot say if there is any writing on the stone or not, because it is covered over with moss. There was also a nice clean passage leading to the well. But it is now covered with briars and ferns. Over the well are five Blackthorn bushes. Last Summer twelve months a man was seen by the man who lives near the well. This man was a stranger. He was kneeling at the side of the well. He had Rosary beads in his right hand. He kept praying for about three minutes.Then he washed his eye with the water of the well. The water of this well can not be boiled. Rounds have never been made there as far as the old people know.

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I decided this needed to be investigated. The Board of Works Road is now very busy and cars whizz close by. Looking in the hedgerows I was astounded to see what looked like the six hundredweight stone lying enigmatically in the nearby field. I tried to get closer but was thwarted by a steep ditch, a large stream and many nettles and brambles – the nice clean passage has long gone. I could see no other way of getting into the field but, and I don’t think I was being too fanciful, from another angle it looked as though the area near the stone was dampish. Could the well still be there? The well is listed in the Archaeological Inventory for County Cork and is placed in the townland of Knockanreagh and shown to be further from the road than the stone. It is described as having no visible trace but I think some further investigation will be required.

Gallows Hill Well, Bandon

And in Bandon itself I came across interesting information about another well once renowned for its remarkable and enduring healing qualities. It lay up on Gallows Hill and received patronage from the Countess of Bandon who brought her son to be cured here. The Irish Tourism Association Survey (ITA) has some basic information:

A church was built there in 1797 presented to Fr Shinnick by the Countess of Brandon for curing her son of fits and deformity. The old church foundations can still be seen in the school yard- a school (Junior Boys’ School) was erected on the site. There was a well near the east gable of the present school which was renowned for its cures.

ITA for County Cork

The cure was obviously effective and Lord Bandon donated land near the well to Father Shinnick, the parish priest. Here he built a chapel and it was here that father Shinnick was eventually buried after his death in 1814. The well and the priest’s tomb continued to be places of pilgrimage and healing until the chapel became redundant when the new church, St Patrick’s, was built in 1861. The chapel was eventually demolished in 1895 and a school built on the site:

Father Thomas Shinnick was for 35 years Parish Priest of Bandon. He was the founder of the chapel of Kilbrogan, Bandon. Father Shinnick died on 11th Feb. 1814 and was buried in the old Catholic Church which stood on the same ground as the Junior Boy’s School now stands. Near his grave was a well where cures were effected and coins, medals and crutches were found at the well. This well was closed by order of Right Rev. Monsignor Mc. Swiney, P.P.,V.G., years after. About the same time there was buried in Ross a famous priest, Rev John Power. People travelled from far and near to Fr Power’s grave on St. John’s Day where they paid “Rounds” and many cures were reported. Now it happened that a man came from Liverpool to Bandon on his way to Ross. He was a poor cripple with two crutches and while he was in Bandon someone persuaded him to go to Fr Shinnick’s grave to pay rounds there. He went and remained up all night praying, etc. Next morning he came out with one crutch only and limping badly with the other. After a few hours he returned to the tomb and placed the other crutch on the tomb. To the surprise of the onlookers (some schoolboys at the time) he walked perfectly out onto the road. His crutches with several others were to be seen near the well for years after. There are plenty of old Bandonians still alive who saw the crutches near the well. Fr. Thomas Shinnick’s remains now rest beneath the Mc. Swiney memorial in St Patrick’s, Roman Catholic Church, Bandon.

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Another version of events offers a different name for the priest and a sad ending:

Father McSweeney had a well at the back of the old chapel where Murphy’s school is now and any amount of people used to be “paying rounds there and ’tis many the poor person was cured there. This ground belonged to the old Lord Bandon.Lord Bandon had one son and his head was turned out over his shoulder. Father Bowen asked Lord Bandon for this bit of ground and in order to get it he made the young fellows face right and then he got the money to build the Church.But they used to be interfering with the poor Catholics and the boys face was turned out over his shoulder again. One day when he was fishing in the river the boy fell in and was drowned.

I was curious as to whether anything of the well or the old chapel remained today. It seems not but the forlorn relics of the old school exists, now chained and dilapidated. Father Shinnick’s remains were reburied in St Patrick’s church.

There are obviously still many wells waiting to be rediscovered in County Cork but many are always worth revisiting. I attended the pattern at Lady’s Well, Tobar Mhuire, in Timoleague on the 15th August. This was the first time Mass has been held here for some years and it was extremely well attended. The grotto was beautifully decorated, the sun shone and buzzards wheeled overhead.

Mass was conducted, the water was eagerly sought but there was no sign of the blessed eel.

Another pleasant meeting was had at the Red Well, Tobar Dearg, just north of Macroom. Gerry was busy tidying up and we stopped for a chat.

He later directed us to an extraordinary cross slab, where Jeremiah led me into the farmyard and showed me the beautiful stone, complete with unexpected and intriguing bullauns.

There are plenty of wonders to be found whilst meandering.

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

Many thanks to Stephen and Thomas for showing me their wells, and to Marguerite for showing me the Gallows Hill Well. Thanks also to Gerry and Jeremiah for their assistance in North Cork.