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 […]
West Cork
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 […]
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 […]
A Grand Day Out in Dunworley
Sometimes I have not visited a well simply because it sounds as though it has long gone and there is literally nothing to see. This can be a dangerous assumption for several wells have been there when eventually visited, often covered in undergrowth but still there. I was contacted by Diarmuid a few weeks ago […]
Enchantment around Myrtleville
I always love being invited to see a well. Deirdre contacted me during the first severe lockdown and explained that she had beaten a track to a holy well at Gortigrenane, within her 5km! She was delighted to have found the well, still flowing, and sent me some photographs, offering to take me there when […]