Holy Wells of Cork & Kerry

not all who wander are lost

Schools' Folklore Project

St Gregory & St Catherine: two secretive wells in North Cork

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Visiting North Cork with some friends we headed in the direction of Glanworth, first stopping off at two saintly wells: one dedicated to St Gregory and the other to St Catherine.  Gregory’s Well, Tobercarrown, Ballyshonock This well is not marked on the current OS map but is referred to as Tobercarrown on the historic 25 […]

The Three Marys: a trio of Marian Wells in North Cork

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Since I began this project, a year and a half ago, I have come across dedications to 51 various saints at nearly 200 wells. The most popular patron is the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM), who currently has 29 wells dedicated to her. Not surprising really considering her elevated place in the Catholic pantheon as Mary, […]

Well Shifting around Donoughmore

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Still travelling to Doneraile, three wells around Donoughmore lured us off the N20. All three were dedicated to  St Lachteen, he of the beautiful arm reliquary and multiple wells around Kilnamartrya. He is also considered to be patron saint of Donoughmore and many churches and schools are still named after him, as are the three […]

En route to Doneraile 1: Dripsey

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I’m just back from a few days in North Cork, a long list of wells on the agenda. We based ourselves in Doneraile but the journey up offered several opportunities for exploration. First stop – Dripsey where there were two wells, side by side, in what, according to the OS map, looked like the middle […]

St John’s Wells, Castletownbere

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I knew this would be a bit of a challenge and had put off exploring until I had plenty of time – and energy. Just by looking at the OS map I could see these two wells, dedicated to St John, were situated right on top of a pretty steep mountain – the Maulin. From […]