St Dominic’s Well, Tubbernacruinahur, Glanworth This well was visited at the very end of an intense day of exploration. The light was fading and weariness setting in but there was just time for one more well – one I really wanted to visit for I had seen an enticing photograph and hoped against hope that […]
Eyes
Fionnchú: The White Hound
Arriving in Mitchelstown in the late afternoon the light was fading and a thin mizzle had set in but we thought we could manage a trip to two wells dedicated to the town saint, St Fanahan, or, as he is known as Gaeilge, St Fionnchú: the white hound. St Fanahans’s Well, Tobar Naomh Fionnchú St […]
En route to Mitchelstown
Well hunting is always an enjoyable experience especially when you devote a few days to it. Wells in North Cork beckoned. We stayed for a few days in Mitchelstown in the very comfortable Ballinwillin House, complete with free range deers and boars. A welcome break on the M8 on the way up saw a diversion […]
A bit of a Sow’s Ear
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, […]
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 […]