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 […]
General
In the footsteps of St Fachtna
Today, 13th August, is the Feast Day of St Fachtna. At least I think it is! It was originally the 14th of August but sometime in the 1960s, the General Roman Calendar, which seems to decided these things, offered the day to St Maximilian Kolbe instead, and St Fachtna was given the 13th. Anyway, it […]
Close Encounters around Clonakilty
Four wells beckoned in the backhills around Clonakilty. Enlisting the help of my pal Finola of Roaringwater Journal fame, an expert navigator thankfully, we set off to explore, the day being bright and beautiful. Trinity Well, Tobar na Trionóide Naofa, Castleventry First stop was Castleventry. Parking in a handy layby, we were surprised to find […]
On the trail of St Finbarr
Today’s adventure was centred around the scenic back roads between Dunmanway and Crookstown, a day of exploration with my pals Robert and Finola from Roaringwater Journal. Several holy wells were of course on the agenda. St Finbarr’s Well, Tobar na Daibhche, DunmanwayFirst stop was St Finbarr’s Well just outside Dunmanway, an area of little shady roads, […]
Trinity Well, Newmarket
This was an unexpected and interesting well, clearly signed from the road and approached down a long, damp trackway complete with horsetail shoots. The stone wellhouse, a colourful mound in a pool of bogginess, is semi-circular and bedecked with plastic flowers and eclectic offerings, a wooden cross placed atop. A large slab, now submerged, lies […]
Two wells for Bealtine
Just back from a brief but fruitful tour of North Cork, culminating in two very special wells that are traditionally visited at Bealtine. Bealtine was one of the four ancient Celtic festivals and is a Cross Quarter Day, half way between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. It was usually celebrated on May 1st. […]