Today we headed off towards Kinsale with our friends Robert and Finola from Roaringwater Journal fame, stained glass and holy wells on the agenda. Finola is giving a talk on stained glass shorlty and wanted to take photos of the windows in St Multose, Kinsale. The church is closed in the winter, apart from services, […]
Eyes
An Arboreal Theme
Fuelled with coffee at Budds in Ballydehob we headed off on the R586 towards Bandon, five wells in the GPS. Holy Well, Killowen First stop, a sharp left after Murragh and up an unexpected glen, full of dense foliage and the sound of dripping water. We parked in a layby and Ger just happened to […]
On the Trail of St Lachteen
Today we ventured inland into the Gaeltacht in the search of St Lachteen. St Lachteen (526- 622AD) is patron saint of the Kilnamatrya area, cill na matra meaning church of the relic. This relic in question was an armbone of the saint, housed in an extraordinary artefact: the Lámh Lachtáin. The gorgeous reliquary dates from […]
Well Hunting around Ballinspittle
A crisp clear morning in Kinsale, we had four wells on the agenda on our way home. First stop Lady’s Well, just over the bridge at Ringrone. Lady’s Well, Tobar Mhuire, Ringrone The well looked to lie quite close to the road in pasture. According to the Archaeological Inventory, it no longer had holy use […]
In Search of Cats around Toe Head
The day being fine we set out for Toe Head, a small peninsula somewhere below Skibbereen roughly towards Castletownsend. There were three wells on the agenda and I was not very hopeful about finding any of them. Once off the main Castletownsend road the roads become quite challenging but highly scenic: tiny bumpy roads with […]
A Saintly Quintet around Midleton
Another day in east Cork. Fuelled by an enormous breakfast and good night’s sleep at the delightful Wisteria House in Cloyne, we (travelling companions Robert and Finola of Roaringwater Journal) hit the back roads around Midleton. St John’s Well, Templeboden The next well was just a little way away in the townland of Templeboden and […]