A mysterious well at the end of the world – St Erc, Kerry Head

I have unsuccessfully tried to find St Erc’s Well on two previous occasion and written about my first experience here. It has played on my mind however, and another trip to North Kerry in the company of Himself and Finola from Roaringwater Journal, provided an opportunity for a third, and hopefully, fruitful exploration.

St Erc’s Well, also known as St Macadaw’s Well or even St Brigid’s Well, is located in Glenderry on the Kerry Head, a tiny peninsula with almost unbelievably scenic views out to the sea, the Dingle Peninsula looming beyond.

The journey out there is breath-taking on a clear day. Leave the already very small road skirting the headland, and an even smaller boreen leads down towards the sea, passing through a gate and ending up in a cluster of houses, some occupied, some not. It feels like entering another world and somehow that is appropriate for this is the domain of the Corridon family who have lived here for several centuries and who have an intimate and profound connection with the area. More of them in a minute.

Amongst the scattering of houses is an enclosed area containing a small cemetery, the remains of a very early church and a leacht – a rectangular enclosure full of stones, the possible burial place of a saint.

It has changed little since described in the Ordnance Survey Letters for Kerry, 1841:

Situated in the Townland of Glenderry in this Parish are the remains of an old church called Cill Mhic a’Deaghaidh which signifies “the Church of the Son of Deaghaidh”. This place lies to the South of Kerry Head…It is said that this Church was built by Saint Macadeaghaidh, whose Holy Well is situated on the Shore to the East of the Church.

Macadeaghaidh means son of Deaghaidh, who is usually referred to rather more simply as St Erc, or St Macadaw. He was the first Bishop of Kerry and it is from this spot that he saw mysterious lights across the bay, proclaiming the birth of St Brendan. This event is referenced in a continuing belief:

Today Keel in The Townland of Glenderry has the old ruins surrounded by a small graveyard. The small enclosed burial ground is reserved exclusively for the local Corridan Family. Tradition has it when a member of The Corridan Family dies, a light shines across the Bay from Mount Brandon. (CorridonConnection:blogspot)

The tradition of the light shining to announce an imminent death remains strong and several people have confirmed to me that they have experienced this phenomenon.

On top of the leacht is a small pillar stone and on top of this a round smooth stone. The stone is sometimes referred to as a bulley and folklore relates how should it be removed it will always find its way back to this pillar. Like the cemetery, it is of huge significance to the Corridon family and the Kerry antiquarian Mary Agnes Hickson, writing in 1890, described its importance:

This cupped pillar stone had the cross on its eastern face the day that I visited Kilmacida in 1883. The ball was absent in charge of one of The Corridan Tribe, who have charge of it, and the sole right of burial in the little churchyard in which the cross stands on a kind of low carn or mound. My Guide was the wife of one of the name, but she told me that she could not be buried with her husband as she was not of the blood or the tribe, but her children would rest there,  should they die at Kilmacida or near it. (The Holy Wells of North Kerry).

The bulley played a crucial part in activating the holy well and could only be handled by a Corridon. I knew there were two bulleys and that this one on the cross slab was the inferior one, the potent stone kept somewhere secret and safe by the family. We admired it nonetheless and then wondered how we might find the still elusive holy well, which we knew was in a remote and inhospitable area on the edge of the cliff about 300m away. We needed assistance and preferably a male Corridon!

Everywhere looked very quiet but a wander around a farmyard attracted the attention of a big, friendly dog . Shortly afterwards Michael appeared on his tractor, taking silage to the cattle. We stopped for a chat and we explained our mission and he revealed he was indeed a Corridon. He was very doubtful that we would ever find the well but very kindly agreed to take us, warning us that the going would be tough. He fetched his coat and led the way across fields, streams and scrubland. What a kind and generous man.

Finola decided to leave us at the first steeply-banked, bramble-infested stream, Caspar the dog sat down at the second and sensibly decided to await our return.

Michael and I clambered and scrambled through the gorse, briars and nettles, the views utterly sublime.

The going was indeed tough and, as Michael noted, my ankles were destroyed – the briars as thick as my wrist!

Having skidded most inelegantly down the cliff edge, we eventually came across St Erc’s Holy Well – sitting quietly in a small gulley, remarkably clear of briars, beautifully marked with stones and the water fresh and percolating. I was beyond giddy!

We both stared reverently and I admired the freshness of the water and the abundance of the watercress growing around it. Michael recalled how pilgrims would originally walk to the well along the cliff edge, the path, he thought, was probably still there, as was the path where the rounds were paid.

As mentioned, only a male Corridon could access the powers of the well. Ideally it would first be activated by the bulley which was placed in the water of the well to release the curative powers. Alternatively water from the well could be taken back to the house and the bulley inserted there. Sometimes moss from around the site could also be mixed with the water and applied to the body.

Charles Smith recorded the procedure when he visited in the 1750s:

 The stone would be taken from it’s place in the house and the Family would walk around the well in a clockwise direction whilst praying. Only The Corridans had the privilege of paying rounds at this well and it was not used by the general public. When the stone was put in the well , the power of the stone was activated and this could only be done by a blood Corridan. No one who married into the Family could use the stone effectively. Still further, the healing power of the well worked only on Blood Corridans. ( Charles Smith, The Antient and Present State of the County of Kerry, 1756)

A more recent description of the ritual is provided by the Corridon Connection:

The stone would be taken from its place in the house and the Family would walk around the well in a clockwise direction whilst praying. Only The Corridans had the privilege of paying rounds at this well and it was not used by the general public. When the stone was put in the well, the power of the stone was activated and this could only be done by a Blood Corridan. No one who married into the Family could use the stone effectively. Still further, the healing power of the well worked only on Blood Corridans. (Corridon Connection: blogspot)

Three rounds were required and according to the Irish Tourism Association General Survey for County Kerry (ITA), written in the 1940s, the water was said to be a cure for: all evils that flesh is heir to.

As we wandered back up towards the farm, I was wondering if I dared ask to see this mysterious and potent stone, still in possession of the family. Michael must have read my mind for he asked simply: Would you like to see the bulley? I told him I had admired the one on the pillar stone and he confirmed that that was the fake one, the real one kept in a safe and secure place within the family. Inside the family house. Michael’s wife was most welcoming and was dispatched to fetch the bulley.

What an incredible moment and a real privilege to see this extraordinary black stone, smooth, semi-spherical and so tactile.

And I was allowed to hold it! If I’m looking a bit overcome that’s because I was!

Unusual as the stone is, other examples come to mind, particularly the bulla, which is visited as part of the round at St Gobnait’s Well in Ballyvourney, West Cork.

This is a large, agate sphere, folklore describing how St Gobnait used it to knock down the walls of an intruding chieftain! It is now embedded in the walls of the medieval church and is much revered, believing to hold a cure for, amongst other things, rheumatism. I think there could be a whole blog on exploring the connections and significances between bulla and bulley and and butter stones and bullaun stones! Fascinating.

One further intriguing snippet. Charles Smith refers fleetingly to an image of a saint also once in the possession of the Corridon family:

a small chapel, dedicated to … Mac Ida; where a rood or image of the saint is kept, which is held in great venertaion by a .. family names Corridon … (Charles Smith The Antient and Present State of the county of Kerry, 1756 )

Did they once have a statue of St Erc, a bit like the one that still exists of St Gobnait in Ballyvourney which is displayed only on her feast day (11 February) and at Whitsun? This remarkable statue had a replica made of it last year, shown on the left. The original is in the centre and a modern reproduction of the original is on the right.

One final snippet! Today this little corner of the Kerry Head feels remote and almost untouched, hiding its many treasures but once it was recognised as an important site of pilgrimage, on a par with Mount Brandon, Skellig Michael and Lough Derg. It is probably McEdeaga in Momonia listed in the Armagh Ecclesiastical Court Records as one of the 19 pilgrimage sites around Ireland that Heneas MacNichaill visited in 1541 in penance for murdering his son. Finola provides the details her in her wonderfully researched blog on – Punishment and Pilgrimage in 16th Century Ireland

When you set out to look for a holy well you really never know how things might go but this is one experience I shall never forget, all thanks to the kindness of strangers.

With huge thanks to Michael Corridon for taking me to this remarkable well.