Unbelievably is seems that ten years have passed since I first ventured out, rather naively it has to be said, on my quest to visit and record the state of the holy wells in County Cork. My original motives were curiosity and a desire to see a bit more of the county, a good project for my recent retirement. I hadn’t really thought it through and wasn’t expecting to be so entranced and absorbed by my peregrination. When I set out I knew very little about the traditions or folklore surrounding holy wells nor about the attendant rituals and etiquette. I’ve had my eyes opened in all respects. These are a few of my experiences.
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In the Hoofprints of St Manchán: a trip to County Offaly
We’re just back from a short but action-packed few days in County Westmeath which turned out to be full of wonders and astonishment. Perhaps the most amazing was to be found enroute to the early monastic site of Lemanaghan, actually in County Offaly. St Manchán’s Shrine, Boher The first stop was at the little church […]
Kinsale: Fan na dTubraid, a town built on springs
I recently joined forces with Charlotte Cargin who took me on a whirlwind tour of some of the wells in Kinsale, the town originally called Fan na dTubraid: the Slope of the Springs/Wells. I had noticed that Charlotte was busy uncovering wells in the town and surrounding areas and wanted to find out a bit […]
Wonderful Wells & Wild Weather: squelching around the Iveragh
I’m just back from an excellent long weekend at the inaugural Skellig Coast Archaeology Festival. The weather was atrocious and many events were outside but we were a hardy lot and sallied forth anyway – and there were wells! St Crohane’s Well, Tobar Chrócháin One of the highlights of the programme for me was a […]
Patrick’s Well: trees, trout & a strange mound
In search for a well for St Patrick’s Day where better to start than a townland encouragingly called Patrickswell. This one is in County Limerick which has nineteen wells dedicated to the patron saint – quite a contrast to County Cork which has only two and I have yet to come across any dedicated to […]
The Good, the Mad and the Strange: a round up of 2019
A quick round up of some of the more intriguing wells visited in 2019. It’s been a busy year for I officially completed my research on the holy wells in County Cork: 310 wells visited and recorded, and then ventured forth into County Kerry. A long visit to New Zealand followed by a horrible bout […]