A fairy Fort, a foxy woman & an enigmatic stone: Meenvane, Schull

Sometimes things come together in unexpected ways and at unexpected moments! Visiting my hairdresser recently, the talk of course got round to holy wells! She mentioned that she had been discussing local wells with another client and the well at Meenvane had come up. I confessed that I thought I had mis-identified this one and she said her client agreed! Did he know where the real one was? It seemed he did and he had even been at the site recently, doing some gentle clearing. The blow dry was temporarily abandoned as Tom was instantly messaged for I had been planning to try to find that very well after leaving the salon.

No response but I decided to try and find the well anyway. I had always had my suspicions that I had not correctly identified the well on my first visit and thought what I had found was a domestic well, interesting nonetheless.

A closer look at the OS maps and Meenvane holy well was revealed to be in what looked like remote scrubland at the base of Mt Gabriel. There seemed to be two possible routes, one with a vestige of a track leading close to it. I drove towards the track and ended up at the delightfully named Fairy Fort Farm where James and his two dogs were on their way out. What a lovely encounter. James was a friend of Tom and had in fact helped him clear the site around the well and was delighted it was getting some recognition. He gave me full instructions how to find it but first sent me off to admire the fairy fort.

What a magnificent structure, perfectly placed on top of a small hill with commanding views in all directions. The walls remain solid and high, a large outer ditch adding to their presence. I admired the old apple tree growing out of the bank which James had told me to look out for.

He also mentioned a slab in the middle of the fort and told me a story of how two lads had decided to try and move it, their uncle raging down on them with tales of bad luck to anyone who interfered with a fairy fort. The slab is still there.

Like many ringforts, this one contained a souterrain, now filled in. An interesting apparition was once spied:

In the town land of Meenvane there is an old fort. This fort is situated in a field belonging to Michael O’Leary. It is said there is an underground passage running from the fort to the shore. Some years ago Patrick Brian was making a pit of mangolds. The pit went down, and he saw a passage running towards the shore and in the direction of the fort. It is said that long ago some person went into the fort. When he went in he saw a foxy woman sitting down in a lovely chair. The table was laden with lovely ware. (SFC:561:0291)

All quiet today apart from the sheep. Back in the car, I carried along the winding road, looking out for a small track following a stream. Are you able for sheep wire?James had inquired and I assured him I was. I think I made things more adventurous than necessary and, watched by curious sheep, ended up on the wrong side of the stream – twice . The landscape was remote, rugged, and exhilarating.

I eventually spotted a clearing in the shrub and hoped that was the site.

Amongst the bracken and blackthorn was a smattering of stones but what was most intriguing was a single triangular-shaped stone, surmounted with what the Archaeological Survey described as a cupmark:

CO139-035001- : Cupmarked stone : COORADARRIGAN – In pasture, on the N side of a river and 1m to the S of a holy well (CO139-035—-). A single cupmark (diam. 0.06m; D 0.02m) occurs on the smooth rounded top of a stone (0.4m N-S; 0.25m E-W; H 0.3m). (Archaeological Survey for West Cork)

Cupmarks are often described as rock art and may date from the Neolithic or Bronze Age. Roaringwater Journal has many blogs devoted to these intriguing monuments.

An entry from the Schools’ Folklore Collection describes how the stone was revered:

At the side of the well there is a stone with a hollow on top, into which people who visited the well put a coin, a tag, a button, or some other article. (SFC: 535:0291)

James reported that old coins were still in the small indent on the top, and he and Tom had added to the collection as was traditional.

I wondered if any water that collected in it might have been regarded as having healing powers – perhaps for warts, as was often traditional for a bullaun – a larger man-made scoop in a rock.

The well is recorded as having been a metre behind the stone but all that remains today is a smattering of stones and slabs below an old field boundary.

According to this description, the well was known as Tobar na Gort a ‘Cill – Well of the church field:

There is only one holy well in this district. That one is situated in the fifth field west of Meenvane Bridge at the north side of the stream. Long ago people used to go to this well to be cured of certain ailments, but no one goes there now. The water was supposed to be a very good cure for warts. The name of this well is ‘Tobar na gort a cill’ which means ‘the well of the field of the church’. There is no trace of a church or other building in this field now. This field is never ploughed, but cattle graze upon it. It is not known with what saint this well is connected. (Ibid)

There is no sign of any church today nor hint of one on the historic maps, though I did spot an enigmatic heap of stones, maybe just field clearance, in the next field.

A serendipitous adventure and how pleasing to find that at least the enigmatic cup-marked stone remains.

And I had never notice Meenvane Bridge before either.

Many thanks to James, Mags and Tom (though I have yet to meet him!)