There are some very interesting saints encountered when pursuing holy wells in the south west of Ireland and one of my favourites is St Brendan, usually known as the Navigator. His feast day is coming up on the 16th May so it seems timely to explore his life story which can be traced via holy wells in counties Cork and Kerry, with occasional sorties elsewhere
Ogham
Three Stragglers in South Kerry: Coolmagort & Kilclogherane
Whilst trawling through photos, I came across three wells which had somehow escaped being recorded. All are in South Kerry not far from Killarney. Tobar Críosta, Toberchreest, Well of Christ, St Brigid’s Well, Dunloe Tobar Críosta is in the townland of Coolmagort, wild and scenic country to the west of Killarney near the Gap of […]
A Few Waifs & Strays
A few waifs and strays remain from the many trips to Kerry this year. Here’s a quick round up of those in Corca Dhuibhne, Dingle Peninsula. Baile an Bhoithín, Ballywiheen ecclesiastical site We pulled in to examine an intriguing site that lay right on the side of the road having spotted mounds and crosses from […]
Water into Wine & Other Stories; three wells dedicated to St Brendan
There are a wealth of wells dedicated to St Brendan in County Kerry. So far I have visited where he was baptised, where he anointed two heathens, where he received the vision to go across the Atlantic and various others that are dedicated to this well beloved and wandering saint. Three more were on my […]
Two wells & a whole lot more at Cill Mhaoilchéadair
The western tip of Corca Dhuibhne, the Dingle Peninsula, is remarkable for the sheer density of early Christian remains: ecclesiastical enclosures, early crosses and holy wells abound. Passing through these clusters is Cosán na Naomh, the Saint’s Path, which is surely no coincidence.This pilgrim path starts in Dingle, Ventry or Kilmalkedar and wends its way […]
Tobar Manacháin agus an Madra
I’m back in the Gaeltacht having finished an intense but rewarding week on an Irish language immersion course in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Corca Dhuibhne; Ballyferriter, Dingle Peninsula. (There’ll be a lot of Irish in this blog, hopefully mainly spelled correctly, but it seems only right to give names in Irish first). The course was very […]