The curious, the scenic and the challenging – a 2023 round up

It’s been a busy year for holy well work and the main excitement was the publication of my book Holy Wells of County Cork.

This was kindly launched by Gary Branigan, author of Ancient and Holy Wells of Dublin and was hosted by the Working Artist Studios, Ballydehob.

The book of course took much longer than anticipated but I’m delighted to say has been well received and has already had a second print run. Do head over to Wildways Press should you fancy a copy.

The holy wells that have been visited during the year have all of course been fascinating and a foray into County Limerick produced several interesting wells dedicated to the patron saint, many in high places with spectacular views. Knockpatrick, for example, is 527m above sea level with huge views out towards the Shannon estuary. The site comprises a hilltop cemetery, St Patrick’s Stone (where he blessed the whole of County Clare), and a little further down the hill, St Patrick’s Well, complete with lifesize statue of the saint.

Still in Limerick, St Barrigone’s Well impressed with its waterlogged estuary setting and folklore relating to small stones collected by pilgrims in order to aid those emigrating by sea – the belief being that they afforded protection against shipwreck and storms.

St Kyren’s Well in its leafy arbour, has to hold the prize for the most romantically derelict and melancholy, complete with stories of dangerous fairy women. The water, considered good for sore eyes and feet and best taken for nine consecutive days, was dry when visited.

Island wells featured large – a very adventurous trip was had across to tiny Illaunloughan just 350m from the mainland at Portmagee in County Kerry. Here we managed to find a willing boatman who set us on the island and lurked offshore whilst we marvelled at the remains of the oratory, various huts, a magnificent gable shrine and the subterranean well.

In September a trip to the An Blascoad Mór, Great Blasket island, also in Kerry, was another exciting boat trip involving a small inflatable to actually get ashore. Once this island had had a population of 120 people but the last permanent residents were evacuated in 1953. What a gorgeous place this is and the little forgotten well, Tobar na Croise, Well of the Cross, is in a truly scenic position facing out towards the mainland at Dunquin.

Talking of spectacular settings, the ecclesiastical settlement of Cill Rialig on the Iveragh Peninsula was visited on a perishing June afternoon. This site literally clings to the cliff edge and is in a truly magnificent position on Bolas Head. It comprises an oratory, huts, and some impressive cross slabs. The holy well however remained elusive.

One of the most challenging but satisfying to find was St Crohane’s well, Tobar Crócháin, high up on Coad mountain near Castlecove, also on the Iveragh. One of three wells on the mountain dedicated to St Crohane, it was generally believed that this one had disappeared though the hermitage where the saint was said to have lived for a while (a prehistoric copper mine) remained. A hardy dozen of us ventured upwards as part of the Skellig Coast Archaeology Festival. Conditions were appalling but I was thrilled to see the well was actually still there, tucked into the heather and signified by a cross-scored stone directly in front of it.

I managed to visit several pattern days: on St Brigid’s Eve, 31 January, I joined Creative Bandon and students from two local secondary schools at St Brigid’s Well in Bandon as part of a celebration for the new public holiday. The next day, February 1st, saw an early morning pilgrimage led by Gormú to the remote St Brigid’s Well near Squince harbour in West Cork which is said to have moved from Rabbit Island after pilgrims drowned – St Brigid herself reputed to have carried the well to the mainland. On St Gobnait’s Feast Day, 11th February, we stopped off at Abbey’s Well near Mallow before continuing to Ballyvourney which this year included a Gathering of the Gobnaits, all females with Gobnait somewhere in their name eligible for the group photo! The enigmatic site in Stouke graveyard near Ballydehob, West Cork was visited on St John’s Eve, 23rd June when a small group paid the rounds. Prayers were said at the graves of two priests who worked tirelessly during the Famine and at the holy well, a bullaun stone. On Trinity Sunday, a large crowd gathered at Trinity Well, Castleventry and on 15th August, on a very warm afternoon, hundreds of pilgrims, young and old, amassed at Lady’s Well in Timoleague, where an outdoor Mass was conducted. St Michael’s Well in Lixnaw, County Kerry was freshly painted and looking immaculate for its feast day on the 29th September.

Encouragingly, there seems to be a growing interest in holy wells at the moment and this year I was invited to give various talks in Cork, Kerry and Limerick including the Samhain Festival in Clonakilty and the Skellig Coast Archaeology Festival in November. Rather terrifyingly, I also did some filming with Manchán Magan for a six part series on Holy Wells, to be shown sometime next year on TG4.

The highlight of the year has to be my first sighting of a blessed fish – in this case an eel spotted at Tubrid Well near Millstreet – an excellent portent.

Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise daoibh.

The location of all holy wells mentioned can be found in the Gazetteer.