A day in Kinsale; rather nice once the crowds have gone, to wander around the windy streets, admire the old buildings and enjoy a white pizza: no tomato sauce but pears, goat’s cheese and walnuts. The Abbey Well, Tobar na Mainistreache The first well goes under many names – Abbey Well, Friary Well, Lady’s Well, […]
West Cork
Gougane Sunday
The 25th September, is the Feast day of St Finbarr, also known as Gougane Sunday. St Finbarr is the patron saint of the city of Cork and the Dioscese of Cork. Gougane Barra, where he established a monastic cell in the sixth century, was, and remains, one of the main pilgrimage destinations in County Cork. […]
On the road to Derryduff
This Sunday, 25th September, is the Feast Day of St Finbarr, the patron saint of Cork. There will be Mass held at Gougane Barra where he established a cell in the seventh century (more information about this shortly). Traditionally pilgrimages were made to Gougane at this time of year from all over Cork and many […]
A tale of two Lickeys*
What makes a well holy is a question I’ve often been asked and one I pondered on today as I investigated two very different but both interesting wells. Letterlickey Well First stop Letterlickey (leitir lice, hillside of the flagstones) where I had been invited to look at a well on private land. The owners had […]
A Forgotten Quartet off the R586
The road between Drimoleague and Bandon offers the opportunity for many holy well diversions – all of them obscure and quite tricky to find, but all worth pursuing. Today there were four wells on the agenda, each clearly marked on the OS map (Discovery Series 86 covers this area). Well of the Baptisms, Tobar a’Bhaiste, Tobernabastia, Nedinagh […]
Two incredibly hard to find wells on the Mizen
I knew these two wells might be a little challenging, but the sun was shining, they were fairly close together and it seemed a great excuse to drive out to the very end of the Mizen Peninsula. Well of the Saints, Tobar na Naomh, Tobaraneeve,Dunlough The drive out to Dunlough Head is stupendous. The roads get […]