Recently my friend Pól sent me some interesting information about a well near Bonane in South Kerry and wondered if I had visited it yet: Tobar na Lochlannach. Tá an tobar sin suidhte ar an dtaobh thiar den pharóisde ar bharr an chnuic, Nuair bhí na Lochlannaigh ag déanamh beorach as an bhfraoich gheibhidís uisge […]
Derrynafinchin: a bullaun, Mass rock & stone circle
The townland of Derrynafinchin – Doire na Fuinseann which seems to mean rather confusingly oak wood of the ash trees – lies in the incredibly scenic and remote Borlin Valley in West Cork. Everywhere was looking Autumnal and lush in the soft drizzle as we ventured forth. First stop a wayside grotto, tucked neatly into […]
Good Well Hunting: what exactly makes a well holy?
Dotted around County Cork are many wells, some which seem to have the potential for being a holy well yet are not officially recognised as such. Over the summer I have been invited to visit several wells in different parts of the county by people curious as to whether their well was holy or not! […]
Turas agus Snamh agus Comhrá: three wells in Castlehaven parish
Enjoying a wonderful run of summery weather and invitations to view wells coming in thick and fast, I have spent just two days in the Castlehaven/Toe Head area revisiting a trio of holy wells. St Bartholomew’s Well, Tobar Bearcháin, Castlehaven Reading through the Southern Star I came across an article about Gormú, the brainchild of […]
A holy stone & a crooked half crown: meandering in South Kerry
A quick field trip to County Kerry recently produced a couple of interesting finds. The first was a bullaun stone, recognised as a holy well, now enclosed in its own ivy-covered stone enclosure at the side of the Cloonalassan road out for Castlemaine. Closer inspection revealed the bullaun to be large, flush with the ground […]
Stranger Things: Apparitions & Visionaries
Returning home from the City of Shrone on May Day I inadvertently passed two Marian grottoes and of course had to stop. Travelling around Ireland you may notice an abundance of grottoes! Some are discrete and tucked into gateposts or placed in gardens: private, household shrines. But the vast majority are Marian shrines depicting the […]