The last two years have been most strange and disconcerting, and we’re not out of the woods yet. Well hunting has been severely curtailed but I thought it might be interesting to do a quick round up of some of the wells visited during the moments lockdown was lifted. A trip to North Kerry in […]
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Trout & Tussocks: the Strangeness of Holy Lakes
I don’t know what the situation is in other counties but Cork and Kerry seem to have a fondness for holy lakes. In County Cork for example, the entire Lake at Gougane Barra was once considered sacred for it was here that St Finbarr wrestled with the resident water serpent, Tú, and of course won. […]
St Finán Cam: the Squinty One
On the lookout for St Gregory’s Well, Tobar i Choill, in Glenbeigh, a chance conversation in the excellent Emilie’s café alerted us to St Finán’s Well. St Gregory proved elusive, too overgrown, but St Finán’s Well turned out to be a much loved and distinguished well in an imposing situation, located about two kilometres out […]
Sunday’s Well, Lisloose: A Cautionary Tale
An unexpected meeting with fellow holy well enthusiast Gail Tangney led to an enjoyable whizz around Tralee inspecting three wells. First we had an excellent coffee and bun in the wonderful Madden’s coffee shop. It was even Infant of (Pride) Prague themed! Refreshed we leapt in our cars and headed to Lisloose. Sunday’s Well, Tobar […]
In Plain Sight: Two Wells in An Daingean
Not all holy wells are in remote and scenic spots, some are hidden in plain sight in towns and can take as much finding as their rural cousins. St John’s Well, Tobar Eoin, Dingle town I had looked for this well many times before. I knew the well itself was no longer visible and that […]
Off the beaten track in Corca Dhuibhne
Jim Dempsey of the excellent Megalithic Ireland kindly alerted me to a well on the Dingle Peninsula which he had recently cleared a path to, and he advised that I visit soon before the undergrowth took over once again. That sounded like a good excuse to nip across to Kerry for a few days. Well […]