I recently joined forces with Charlotte Cargin who took me on a whirlwind tour of some of the wells in Kinsale, the town originally called Fan na dTubraid: the Slope of the Springs/Wells. I had noticed that Charlotte was busy uncovering wells in the town and surrounding areas and wanted to find out a bit more about her work.
Grove Wells
We arranged to meet at her house which is situated high up on Compass Hill with the most amazing views out to the sea and beyond. The house is an old one, built in 1820 by the British military, but what is most thrilling is that it includes a magnificent well now in a pristine condition. 18 years ago the roof was only just visible above ground, the steps and path were completely overgrown and the well itself silted up. Charlotte cleared the well and today uses it not only as her water source but also as a place of reverence and peace.
The wellhouse is a large and elaborate construction of fairly modern build evidenced by the use of concrete. Steps go down into the long deep well, the stonework inside looking like an older construction. The well is brimful of cold fresh water, delicious to drink.
Nearby is one of the most enormous trees I have ever seen, a magnificent beech keeping guardian over the well, hinting at the original grove. The townland is still called Dromderrig – Mound of the Oaks, an area that has always been blessed with trees.
A scrutiny of the early OS maps, especially the historic 25inch, shows an astonishing number of wells in this part of Kinsale, almost every house seems to have one, and I suspect that this well was constructed at the same time as the house for domestic purposes. There is strong argument that all wells are sacred and Charlotte firmly believes that the wells she is uncovering are both ancient and sacred. She includes this atmospheric and beautiful well in her daily rituals and reverences and as such it has a powerful presence. What was particularly nice was that as we were leaving a man walked past us. Are you going to the well? asked Charlotte. Yes, he replied simply. The well is on private land and Charlotte had never seen him before but the well has been awoken and is now on the way to being revered and regarded a holy – this is how it happens.
There is one other well on her land, situated very close to the house and nestling against part of the old town walls. Charlotte only discovered this six weeks ago, dug it out and it now contains fresh, clear water.
Abbey Well, Tobar na Mainistreache, Lady’s Well, Tobar Mhuire, Friary Well
We then headed to Abbey Well, visited many times before but recently tidied by Charlotte. When I visited earlier in the year, the well had been closed off due to an oil spillage.
It was good to hear and see water literally trickling into the little alcove behind the main basin, right at the back of the structure. This well has many names (Leper’s Well, Abbey Well, Tobar na Mainstreache, Lady’s Well), and it is also firmly connected with the BVM. The Abbey Well, or Tobar Mhuire, is dedicated to Our Lady and there are stories of her appearing to a man who was wandering out late and she instructed him to hold on to the hem of her cloak and led him back safety to his home. I recently I came across a different story about its origins and connection with the BVM:
It is said that one day during a very dry summer which happened ages ago a holy man passing by this spot saw water bubbling from the ground. This welcome sign urged him to dig there. Among the stones he turned up was one bearing the impression of a woman’s foot. Old people who remember seeing this stone when it was kept in a house near the Well describe it as dark bluish in colour and the mark as similar to the imprint of a person’s foot on soft mud which might harden in course of time and preserve the impression. It was called the Blessed Virgin’s Foot. People used to apply it to their bodies while praying to get relief from their pains, but whether or not cures were made is not told… (SFC: 284:0319)
I’m sure there must have been cures but I wonder what happened to this imprint, no sign of it today.
It seems that the well was also once graced with a huge sycamore tree with another interesting origin story:
… About eighty years ago a boy named Scott lived with his parents in a narrow lane leading from Friar’s Gate to the Abbey. They had ‘a basin of gold sovereigns on their dresser.’ Scott went to a Sunday dance in Browne’s Mills as was then customary and whilst rambling around the village he noticed sprouting above the ground three young trees growing from seeds dropped there during the previous winter. These he carefully removed brought home and planted on a ditch by the Abbey Well. Notwithstanding Scott’s constant attention only one sapling took kindly to the strange ground. It was a sycamore tree. In course of time it became a beautiful growth. As for the young planter his family fell gradually into poverty. The sovereigns one after another disappeared from the basin. Finally the family had to emigrate. There can be no doubt that young Scott before turning his back forever on his native town went up the Abbey Well Lane to gaze for the last time at the sprout brought by him from Knockrobbin, and which was then beginning to spread its branches over an Tobar Mhuire. Well may we believe too that he told its history to the neighbours whom he was to see no more. At all events it is certain that the residents of the locality began to take a pride in this tree and as its roots struck deeper and even deeper into the close under soil they told the history of it to their children. A generation ago or more when the public water supply of Kinsale of which we hear so much in our day, was even poorer than it is now, people used sit by the Abbey Well during a summer night with their earthenware jugs awaiting their turn to bail a cupful of water from the square shallow hole at the bottom … Needless to say the story of Scott’s sapling was after told. To the credit of these old people it must be said that they showed more veneration for the Tobar Mhuire than do their descendants. Voluntarily they took their turns in cleaning it and would not allow any rubbish to lie near it. They treated it as a holy well. But in our own time came traps who had no respect for this blessed spring, and, following their bad example of dipping dirty vessels into it others also became careless. As for the tree, up to twenty five years ago it could be seen from any of the heights around Kinsale towering like a gigantic umbrella to the sky. But some thoughtless parties began to hack off limbs and bark. The sap dried it became an ugly skeleton. Nothing now remains but a withered stump. (Ibid)
This drawing from the Irish Tourist Association Survey for Cork (ITA) dates from the 1940s and there is no sign or mention of the tree. Sadly there’s not even a stump today but Charlotte has planted some rose bushes. The extract suggests that the well is of an ancient origin.
Bullaun, Abbey Graveyard
We then went into the graveyard nearby, which contains the scant remains of the Carmelite Abbey, to inspect an intriguing bullaun stone, recently carefully uncovered by Charlotte. It nestles into a small fragment of the remaining wall of the Abbey, conspicuous by the large carved arched stone above it and a curious sort of niche.
The ITA contains this intriguing photo. Could this be the same thing?
The text includes some interesting information and a rather beautiful drawing:
Font found in field close to the holy well – Tobar Muire – built into the Leper’s peep in the last remaining section of wall of Carmelite Friary endowed for White Friars AD 1350 suppressed by Henry viii 35th year of his reign.
A little further on in the text is another small drawing and the caption: font and old altarpiece arch have been built in the wall to preserve them.
I returned at a later date and to take another look for the although the description fits perfectly, the drawing and photo don’t match what’s in the field! The old altarpiece, if that’s what the masonry is, seems to be in a different position. Could the wall have disintegrated further and the bullaun and altarpiece put back in a different position? And I could find no trace of the leper’s peep or squint, through which lepers were allowed to watch religious services – clearly seen in the drawing. The wall is tightly ivy-strewn so it could be hiding in plain sight. If anyone has any information about this enigmatic bullaun I would love to hear it.
The Abbey has a long and sometime turbulent history. It was built outside the walls of the town in 1326AD by the Carmelites. It seems to have originally consisted of a church, belfry, hall, various houses and a cemetery. In 1541 it was suppressed by Henry VIII under the Dissolution of the Monasteries and its wealth distributed. During the Siege of Kinsale in 1601 the Abbey, then held by the Spaniards, was subjected to a ferocious onslaught and the remaining buildings were destroyed by the English. Today the fragment of wall holding the bullaun is all that remains.
Whilst trying to find out more about it, I went down a series of research rabbit holes and came across some intriguing information about a mysterious stone found in a field – remember the bullaun is said to have been found in a field, though which one is not recorded. A little way out of the town to the north is a townland called Mellifontstown where tradition suggests the remains of St Eiltín, the patron saint of Kinsale, were taken and buried to save them from desecration. There was once a church here, sean cilla or the old church – now gone, but the Schools’ Folklore Collection includes this story about what sounds like a bullaun, discovered when someone was attempting to level boundary fences:
The following items should have been written after the notes on Mellifontstown
At the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century a family named Coleman added part of the disused graveyard to their farm by levelling the boundary ditch on the east and building another ditch further in. While they were at this vandalism one Seán ÓCoileáin a farmer living in the adjoining townland of Carhoo and who is referred to as a ‘bit of a poet’ called on the Colemans several times and remonstrated with them but failed to stop the vandalism. However, Collins succeeded in preserving a stone believed to be a holy water font.
(Told to the present writer about thirty years ago by an old man named Patrick Coleman a grandson or great grandson of the Coleman who demolished the boundary fence of the graveyard). Another seannachuidhe told me that an attempt to plough the new plot had tragic consequences. The horses bolted, the plough handle struck and knocked the ploughman: ‘he took to his bed and never rose from it’. It is said that no further effort was made to plough the graveyard. I myself saw all the field ploughed with the exception of the strip of burial ground. (SFC:230:0319)
The entry continues with more details and includes a description of the the basin, which seems to have had an appointed guardian, quite a colourful character by all accounts:
In our own time there lived in an adjoining farmhouse a man named Seán Ua h-Argáín otherwise ‘Cut’Horgan who was a self appointed Guardian of the Seana-Chíll. ‘Cut’ kept the place under constant observation, made sure that the font remained on the fence, and would not allow a ploughman beyond a certain point. ‘Seachain an ball so,’ he would say.
‘Na bain leis, na bain leat.’
‘Here,’ he would say planting his foot on the ground, ‘is the grave of the saint who built the old Church in Kinsale. ‘Cut’ was not a dreamer such as wise folk believe custodians of traditions to be. Though of small stature he could hold his own against any farm labourer, he figured prominently among the famous Kinsale Goalers and could vault over a horse. It is said that with his passage ticket for America in his hand he was ready to set off for Cobh but suddenly changing his mind he threw off his new clothes put on his working rig and settled down to work. Had he gone away to seek his fortune his married sister with her husband and helpless young family would not be able to hold the farm.
(Note: What is known as the font is a flat square stone about 18″ in width with a chiselled circular depression 5″ in diameter and 3″ deep. The ‘basin’ is in the corner of the stone, suggesting that it was made to project from a wall. Possibly it was made to support an upright of some kind such as a door jamb. However, the local people firmly that it was a holy water font belonging to the Seana-Chíll. (ibid)
Could this possibly be the font that was found in the field and then brought to the old cemetery in Kinsale? Or am I being over fanciful and it’s simply a remnant of the sean-cilla?
Bullaun, St John the Baptist Church
In the graveyard of St John the Baptist’s Church is another enigmatic stone, looking very much like a bullaun. The basin is remarkably footprint-shaped and must surely have stories attached. There are curious striations on its outside surface. Does anyone have any information about this?
Tobar na mBocht, Paupers’ Well
As mentioned earlier, there are many wells all over the town, many in private gardens. For those without access to fresh water there were also community wells and this nice example is in the middle of town, known as the Pauper’s Well, Tobar na mBocht. It is now covered by a wishing well type construction but peer down through the grill and a deep and very sturdily made stone-lined well is revealed. It still holds water but this is no longer accessible.
Nearby is the The Guard Well, located in the Tap Tavern, also a deep and impressive well, recently cleared out by Charlotte and friends.
Kinsale Waterworks & Well, Rathvallikeen
And talking of public water, there is another now neglected monument to the north of the town, now on the edge of a housing estate. It is an impressive edifice containing a well, a monumental entrance, a plaque and an assortment of brick-built tunnels.
It was built in 1864 by Sir George Conway Colthurst, MP and owner of Blarney Castle. He donated it as a munificent gift to the people of Kinsale.
It is described by the Buildings of Ireland as:
Freestanding reservoir, built 1864, comprising series of barrel-vaulted subterranean chambers, with single-bay red brick neo-Classical style entrance front to east. Barrel-vaulted red brick roofs set on rubble stone plinths, having recent render vents. Entrance front comprising recessed panel surrounding camber-headed opening, with recessed inscribed limestone plaque above, having limestone cornice with substantial brick modillions and simplified pediment above. Cast-iron gate and limestone threshold to entrance.Built as a ‘munificent gift’ from Sir George Conway Colthurst BAR MP to the inhabitants of Kinsale in 1864, this functional structure is much enhanced by its elaborate façade. Furthermore, its prominent positioning at a crossroads, ensures that the generosity of its patron is not overlooked by passersby. (NBHS)
The original well remains within the structure but is now shockingly filled with a lot of disgusting rubbish and debris.
Carrigeen well, Tisaxon
Just outside Kinsale town in the townland of Tisaxon, a small well is tucked into a cliff face by the side of the road, the whole area damp and literally dripping. It is generally known as Corrigeen or Carrigeen Well and remained hidden in plain sight for many years. This summer, 2024, local man David Scannell cleared the site in honour of his late friend, Joe Bowen, who had originally told him about the well and who had fond memories of it. David ‘s mother and grandmother could also remember visiting the well and enjoying the water. David cleared some of the cliff face, cleaned the well and laid slabs leading up to it.
The well is a rectangular basin in what looks like a natural earthfast rock. A small pipe juts out. The water can be seen dripping from the back of the rock and is fresh and clear. A pair of glasses have been on the rock, hinting at a request for a cure.
On our way back to the town, Charlotte introduced me to a local fisherman who could also remember the well and described drinking from it on his way home from school. It seems this may have been a community well but its presence in the interestingly named townland Tisaxon sent me down another rabbit hole. Tisaxon – Tigh Sacsan – House of the Saxon, probably gets it name from Saxon monks who built a church and monastic house here sometime around 665AD. After the Synod of Whitby in 664AD, when King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled in favour of monasticism according to Roman practice as opposed to Irish/Celtic monasticism (one of the main disputes was over the date of Easter), some Irish missionaries and British monks returned to Ireland wishing to continue a more Irish-based form of monasticism. St Colman and his brothers St Berrihert and Gerald of Wales, (later became Bishop of Mayo) are examples. The ITA for Cork suggests St Berrihert, who is still much revered in Tullylease in North Cork, may have also been connected with this site. Was the well originally connected to the monastic settlement?
A lot of random meanderings, connections and queries with a few more answers still needed!
How wonderful to have that many wells in one town. Well done Charlotte for all you work in uncovering and reviving them.
Extraordinary isn’t it, I hope she manages to get a well trail sorted.