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Holy Wells of Cork & Kerry

not all who wander are lost

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pattern day

Signage, paths & no cows: three wells in North Kerry

3rd November 2019 9 Comments

This was rather an unexpected sight to see in a remote area of North Kerry: three larger than life statues of St Bridget, Our Lady and Christ crucified lined up along the side of a road. They were of course connected with a holy well. Knoppoge Holy Well, St Brigid’s Well, Tobar Eilís, Tobereleesh, Tobar […]

Filed Under: North Cork Tagged With: Ballyduff Blessed Virgin Mary Caoimhín ÓDanachair Céile Dé Culdees Eyes GoKerry gold trout grotto hermit Jane Brideson John Galvin Kilflynn Linda Graham Mass Muintir na Tire offerings Pádraig Ó Riain. pattern day pilgrimage quartz ring fort rounds Schools' Folklore Project Shannow River Sheridan Stained Glass St Bridget St Flainn

An Epic Pilgrimage for Michaelmas

28th September 2019 12 Comments

There is a very picturesque area near Baile an Sceilg, Ballinskelligs, on the Iveragh Peninsula in Kerry known as the Glen. It stretches from Duchalla Head to Puffin Island, encompassing the enigmatic Skellig Rocks nine miles off the coast. The most famous rock, Sceilg Mhíchíl, Skellig Michael, was an early Christian settlement, where the monks […]

Filed Under: Iveragh Peninsula Tagged With: An Seabhac Ballinskelligs Blessed Virgin Mary Caoimhín ÓDanachair Charles Smith clochán Conan mac Mourna cross slab Duchás Photographic Collection Dungegan Eyes Fenian Cycle Fionn Mac Cumhaill fulacht fiadh gable shrine Gentleman's Magazine Henry S Crawford HM Westropp holed stone Iveragh Peninsula Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries Kerry Archaeological Magazine Kilkeaveragh Mountain Killemlagh church Kinnitty Lake Killarney Lameness laura MJ Delap offerings oratory Pádraig Ó Riain. Patrick Logan pattern day pilgrimage PJ Lynch Rosary rounds Skellig Michael St Brendan St Finián Cam St Finián's Bay St Michael St Patrick stations turas UNESCO World Heritage Site Valentia Island Waterville

Cream Pies & Crubeens: Pattern Day in Ballyheigue

15th September 2019 11 Comments

The most important day in a holy well’s spiritual and social calendar was the pattern day – the day when the patron of the well was celebrated. Up until the early 1800s patterns days were common at most wells and were frequently boisterous affairs attended by literally hundreds of people. (See Pilgrimage, Partying & Paying […]

Filed Under: North Kerry Tagged With: Banna Strand Bishop of Kerry Blessed Virgin Mary cream pies crubeens Duchás Photographic Collection Eyes grotto Irish Times Kerry Mary Brenneman Mass North Kerry offerings pattern day quartz rounds Schools' Folklore Project Stations of the Cross statue trout Walter Brenneman

St Senan’s Well, Tobershenane, near Listowel

12th May 2019 10 Comments

We visited this well shortly after St Michael’s Well  in Lixnaw- what a striking contrast! No huge statues, paved areas or painted energy points here, just an ambling walk down an old green track towards a small clump of trees, keeping a wary eye out for the bull! It hasn’t changed much since 1958 by […]

Filed Under: North Kerry Tagged With: Caoimhín ÓDanachair Cathach County Clare fish football match Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries Maggie O Connell pattern day River Shannon rounds Scattery Island Schools' Folklore Project sea serpent St Seanán The Holy Wells of North Kerry white trout

On Wells 4: Pilgrimage, Partying & Paying the Rounds

7th January 2019 9 Comments

You can of course visit a holy well any day of the week but there are certain times when a visit is considered to be especially potent. The main day for visiting a well is the pattern day or pátrún day, usually celebrated on the patron saint’s feast day. St John’s wells are visited on […]

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: Act to Prevent Further Growth of Popery Ballyvourney Bantry Carrigaline Castletownbere Cullen Decree of Excommunication faction fighting Gougane Barra John Barrow Kealkil Lough Hyne Millstreet Mitchelstown pattern day PJ Hartnett sile na gig Southern Reporter St Bartholomew St Bridget St Colman St Fanahan St Finbarre St Gobnait St John St Olan Stations of Cross Synod of Tuam Thomas Crofton Croker Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry William Carleton William Wilde

Meandering south of Mallow

9th September 2017 6 Comments

Four wells on the agenda today, all south of Mallow and all having interesting and detailed write ups by Colonel Grove White in his Historical and Topological Notes etc. Ania’s Well, Tobar Aine, Dromore As we approached Dromore House, (now called Nazareth House and run by the Sisters of Nazareth as a holistic centre) where the well […]

Filed Under: North Cork Tagged With: Ballyvourney Colonel Grove White Dromore eel Eyes Kilcolman Kilgobnet Kilshannig Lameness National Inventory of Architectural Heritage pattern day rounds Schools' Folklore Project Sisters of Nazareth Skarragh Wood St Gobnait trout

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