It was lovely to be back in the field after a pause due to bad weather and life in general. It also feels as though I am on the last stretch of this project for I have now visited almost 250 holy wells and I suspect there can only be another 50 or so left […]
The Magical Well
Sometimes you find no definite well but a whole lot of interesting stories! Whilst browsing through the holy well entries for Bantry in the Schools’ Folklore Collection, as you do, I came across this extraordinary account. My Gaeilge being somewhat lacking, I sought help from a Gaeilgeoir and this is her translation: The Magical Well […]
Two remote wells NE of Macroom
Two rather obscure wells on the agenda today, slightly north east of Macroom. Kill Holy Well & Bullaun The first stop was in a remote area, all green pasture, tiny roads and quite a lot of flooding after some seriously wet days. I was looking for a well and a bullaun in the townland of […]
Explorations around Killeagh
East Cork was on the agenda for a couple of days, an area of much interest historically including a few wells still unvisited. Fuelled by a delicious lunch at the Bitesize Café in Midleton we made our way down to Bailic Park to see the incredibly evocative sculpture, Kindred Spirits. This beautiful and striking piece […]
Tobereenkilgrania
Most holy wells remaining on the list for discovery now look to be in obscure situations and today’s well was no exception. A perusal of the map showed it to be on the edge of forestry with nothing close to it, just a few ancient tracks wending through the woods. We set off and stopped […]
La Fhéile Bride
Celebrations on several accounts: it’s been two years to the day since I embarked on this ambitious, slightly mad but riveting project to visit every holy well in County Cork; this is my 100th blog and it’s St Bridget’s Day! There are potentially at least 356 holy wells in County Cork and I am now […]