Heading East: Wandering through Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow

I was recently invited to participate in the the Wellsprings of Éiríu event in County Wexford, organised by Áine Fortune of Embodied Soul. It was a long drive but it is always nice to meet up with like minded people. There were six speakers but what was especially welcome was that Áine left plenty of time for questions and audience input and some interesting public discussions ensued. It’s clear that there is a strong interest in and an awareness of holy wells at the moment.

St Patrick’s Wells, Tobar Padraigh, Kilpatrick, Wexford

At the end of the day what could be more appropriate than visiting a holy well. Actually there were two, side by side in a wooded glade near Kilpatrick strand. There is meant to be a third spring in here somewhere, currently unidentified, but referenced in this short entry in the Schools’ Folklore Collection:

Suidhe in Cill Pádraig cois farraige in deisceart Paróiste an Inbir MhóirTá trí tobair ann ach is deachair ceann amháin d’fheiscint. Tá an dá cheann eile taobh le chéile in carraig. (SFC:160: 0888)

I have roughly translated it as: Situated in Kilpatrick by the sea in the south side of the parish there are three wells but one is difficult to see. The other two are side by side in the rock.

This description remains much the same today although only one well is marked on the Archaeological Survey for Wexford and the historic 6 inch maps refer simply to Toberpatrick. It seems both wells were renovated as part of a Millennium project in 2000 and, having later lapsed into disrepair, both have recently been cleaned. The two wells are very close to each other, both large, roughly circular and lined with stones. The larger well, on the left handside, is big enough for full bodily immersion and may have been used for baptisms. St Patrick is said to have landed in this part of Wexford, maybe on the strand nearby, hence the many wells dedicated to him in this area. The feast day is of course the 17th March.

Both wells are currently full of fresh, clear water, traditionally believed to hold cures for sore eyes and warts.

Cait, a shamanic practitioner, delivered a simple, heartfelt song to the wells and then we each paid our respects in our own ways.

We slowly dispersed, a very fitting end to an interesting day.

The next day I met up again with Rosaleen Durkin (in the long blue dress above) who has done sterling work identifying, documenting and researching the 120 holy wells in County Wicklow through her project Toibreacha Chill Mhantain, Wicklow Wells. Fortified by coffee and croissants at the Glendalough Green Café, we embarked on a whistlestop well expedition. Rosaleen introduced me to four quite remote wells and I hope I have correctly identified where they are and what they are called!

Fraughan Well, Tobar Uí Fraocháin, Trooperstown

Nothing to do with fraughans, wild blueberries, but named after a local family who lived here in the 1800s. The well is actually on private land behind the hedge but water is readily available and gushes continually from a pipe in the bank – delicious. It holds cures for sores and pains. The BVM is said to have appeared here. There is a Mass rock in a nearby field and this and the holy well were both resorted to during Penal Times.

And a word about the beautiful stone signs that were at each of the wells visited. These are the work of Séighean Ó Draoi at Cloch Bhreac. Séighean and Rosaleen work closely together monitoring and maintaining the wells, Séighean marking each with one of his sculpted stones, each unique and bearing a beautifully wrought inscription in Irish and English.

St Luin’s well, Tobar Lúan, Moneystown

A short distance away lies St Luin’s Well, thankfully marked by one of Seighean’s stones otherwise it would be easy to overlook – physically and geographically as it is not marked on the Archaeological Survey nor on the historic maps. An entry in the Schools’ Folklore Collection gives a few details:

There is a holy well on my father’s land in Moneys-town. It is situated two fields above the road in the middle of what is called the Spring field. It got its name from a saint named Lewis. There is a hawthorn tree situated above the well, and there are a lot of stories surrounding it. According to these there seems to have been a house or a church there one time. There is also a special cure attached to the well. Several people came to visit this well and said certain prayers there long ago. There were also a lot of people cured at the well. This well has supposed to have moved three times since its origin. First it was situated exactly under the tree, but now it is ten yards below it. This was caused by a man who washed a horse’s foot in the well. The water is used for household use and it is very nice to drink. (SFC:071:0918)

Trinity Well, Tobar na Tríonoide, Newtown Boswell

A wonderful secretive spot just off the road, another sign hinting at what lies within.

Brave the nettles and briars and a verdant and peaceful spot is revealed, its sanctity marked by a large, whitewashed cross complete with an assortment of offerings.

The well itself is to the right of the cross, covered in ivy and other growth but a protective, low lying stone wellhouse is visible.

The water, dampish rather than gushing today, holds cures for sore eyes, warts and general ailments. It was traditional to throw small crosses into the well and considered very bad luck to remove any of the objects left in offering. It’s hard to believe but the well once attracted huge crowds on its pattern day – Trinity Sunday, a moveable feast, the first Sunday after Pentecost.

St Kevin’s Well, Tobar Chaoimhín, Glasnamullen

A rickety gate and another of Séighean’s signs announced the existence of this well, one of the many in the area dedicated to the local patron saint, St Kevin, who is said to have stopped here and blessed the well. It remains on an old pilgrimage route leading to Glendalough.

It’s in a beautiful wooded spot down by the River Barry.

The well is tucked discretely into the bank, a rough wellhouse giving it some protection. It hasn’t changed much since this description was written in the 1930s:

It is situated in the townland of Glasnamullen, in the Parish of Glendalough. In the vicinity there is the remains of an old church or “St Kevin’s Chapel” as it is locally called. The stones of this church were utilised to build a Protestant house in the district. About fifty years ago a chalice was excavated here. The well is protected on one side by a strong firmly built wall and trees surround it on the remaining sides. The Barry River ( a branch of the Vartry) flows parallel to the well at a distance of two yards from it, but the water of the well is believed to sink before it reaches the river. Large white stones are placed round the well and just beside it is a white-thorn bush. This well is frequented by the old people of the district for the cure of headache and eye ailments. They pay a certain number of visits (the number is unknown ) and walk barefoot around three sides of the well. The water is drunk and the affected part bathed. There are no Pattern Days or other special times remembered for visiting this well, but it is believed that there were such days in the early times of the well. Pieces of cloth, and sometimes medals, crosses and other objects of piety are affixed to the bough of the hawthorn bush … It is believed that St. Kevin blessed this well as he was on his way to Glendalough for the first time. (SFC:245:0917)

The well is currently dry which is apparently common at this time of year, Rosaleen assuring me it would soon fill with water.

There were no signs of any offerings or rags as mentioned in the description above but what a tranquil spot, an old bridge, dense woodland and a feeling of being very untroubled by the current world.

The journey east of course gave me the opportunity to visit a few more holy wells: one old favourite, one I’ve longed to visit and a couple of new ones.

St Declan’s stone & holy well, Ardmore

First a revisit to St Declan’s extensive and impressive ecclesiastical site in Ardmore, County Waterford. It was a beautiful day with a distinctly seasidey feel. I was especially keen to find St Declan’s Stone which I had missed on my first visit here. It has a strange story attached.

St Declan had been visiting Rome and stopped off in Wales to visit St David. As he sailed back to Ireland he realised he had forgotten his precious bell. He prayed to God and soon the bell floated by on top of a boulder! He promised that he would build a church where the boulder came ashore. It’s still here and is said to hold a cure for backache and rheumatism – yes, you have to crawl under the stone to get relief. Treacherous even when the tide is out.

The stone was originally included in the rounds and in 1841 the Halls recorded what they witnessed:

… I counted 154 persons kneeling around the stone, fresh comers every moment succeeding those who had told their beads and said their prayers. I watched their motions as they approached the stone; they took off their hats, then lowly bowed their heads, and dropped their knees on the pointed rocks; here they repeated several prayers, telling over then beads; then solemnly drew near and reverentially kissed the informed (?) mass several times, then bumped their backs against it three times , drew back in awe, dropped again on their knees, repeating more prayers and silently retired., children in their arms were pressed down until their mouths touched the holy stone. (Mr & Mrs SH Hall, Ireland its Character & Scenery, 1841)

A woman was inspecting the stone when I went down the steps to the strand. Does it work, I inquired. It does, she answered.

I then visited the well and was accompanied by the little guardian, a bold and mischievous robin.

True to his promise, St Declan built a church nearby though the ruins of the one on the site are later.

Nearby are the highly impressive remains of a cathedral and round tower, both dedicated to St Declan – in fact he is said to be buried in the small oratory in the graveyard.

St Gobnait’s Well, Tobar Ghobnatan, Tobar Apoona, Pound Well, Kilgobnet, Waterford

Next to Kilgobnet just past Dungarvan and another successful encounter. I had not had the opportunity to visit this well before but friends had taken photos for me when they were in the area and I included them in my blog focusing on the peregrination of St Gobnait. Since their visit, the site has since been tidied and restored by the local community after another friend and Gobnait researcher, Con Lynch, also visited it.

The well sits in a field behind the old church, easily identifiably by its circle of trees.

It’s a very pleasant walk through the pasture, a small stile giving access. The well is surrounded by a wooden fence and has signage. Today the hawthorn trees were in full blossom and looked magnificent, their perfume heady.

The well is tucked into a hollow, identified by large horizontal stone slabs.

It was dry today but a pipe suggests that it is sometimes full and piped down to the churchyard.

This is as far east as St Gobnait travelled before she turned and headed back towards County Cork – the full story here: A Peregrination part 1

St Conlon’s Well, Tobernagran, Inchindrisla, Waterford

A quick perusal of the map and I saw that another well was close by. I asked an woman in the graveyard if she knew of the well. She did but warned it was hard to get to and easily missed. I thanked her but she kindly waited for me in her car and waved me in the correct direction – there is signage but it’s getting quickly overgrown.

This was a challenging but delightful walk through dense woodland which gently eased out into a greenway.

The path opened up into a clearing, a large and imposing font the first thing to catch the eye.

This ornate marble baptismal font once stood in St Abigail’s church – Abigail being the anglicised version of Gobnait – and was brought here in the 1990s. I am assuming this is St Gobnait/St Abigail’s church in Kilgobnet nearby but am not certain. The words: Suffer little children to come unto me for such is the Kingdom of Heaven are beautifully carved around the rim. I believe there is a cilleen nearby – a burial place for unbaptised, often children, so it seems that this was considered an especially appropriate place for the font to end up.

The well itself was initially quite hard to identify, the vegetation almost swamping it – it’s under the fuchsia bush! Actually I don’t think that is a fuchsia bush but am unsure what it is.

Clearing away some of the bushes, the water was revealed, flower-strewn but abundant, contained in a rectangular stone basin. It was once resorted to for cures of toothache and headache.

Nearby, a shrine cut into the rock contained numerous statues and other offerings, the well still occasionally visited.

A short extract in Irish gives a little information about the well:

Tá an tobar seo, Tobar Naoimh Chonnláin, i n-aice le Dúngarbhán. Sa tsean-aimsir bhí cill agus roilg ann leis ach níl ann ach fothrac anois. Tá a lán crann ag fás san áit atá mór-thimcheall an tobair agus fothraigh na cille. ‘Sé an ainm a bhíodh ar an áit sin, fadó ná “Na Connláin” (SFC:217:0645)

Very roughly translated as: This is the well, St Conlon’s well, near Dungarvan. In ancient times there was a cell and graveyard there but it’s just a wreck now. There are many trees growing there around the well and the ruins of the cell. Long ago the name of the place used to be Na Connláin.

The graveyard may refer to the cilleen, mentioned earlier. The woman who had directed me to the well told me that mass used to be held here but few people came now. The remains of an altar lurked amongst the bushes.

The historic maps refer to this well as Tobernagran – Well of the Trees – which seems very appropriate. A peaceful and otherworldly place I was pleased to discover.

St Patrick’s Well, Toberpatrick, Wicklow

Impossible not to be distracted by a village called Toberpatrick – this had to be investigated! I think this is in Wicklow. There was even smart signage which informed that St Patrick himself had visited and blessed this the well.

It turned out to be a very verdant and peaceful spot, the well large, deep and lined with impressive stone banks. A channel led off into the undergrowth.

The water was clear and fresh, percolating vigorously. Two trout are said to reside within, good luck to anyone who sees them. The surrounding wildflowers were once considered good for the cure of yellow jaundice.

Over the well a bent hawthorn tree was laden with offerings, mainly scapulae.

Little figures were tucked in amongst the the grass.

The well was restored in 1993 and remains beautifully maintained. It is certainly a very peaceful spot and I sat for a while and listened to the boisterous song of a chaffinch.

A very fruitful and enjoyable couple of days.

Many thanks to Áine for organising such an enjoyable holy well symposium. And huge thanks to Rosaleen Durkin for showing me a few of the wonderful wells in County Wicklow.

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