St Dominic’s Well, Tubbernacruinahur, Glanworth This well was visited at the very end of an intense day of exploration. The light was fading and weariness setting in but there was just time for one more well – one I really wanted to visit for I had seen an enticing photograph and hoped against hope that […]
Schools' Folklore Project
In search of St Mologa
Today we were in search of St Mologa, two wells on the agenda both within a few miles of each other: one in Templemologa (church of Mologa) and the other at Labbamologa (bed of Mologa) – the area between the two seemingly being the Tearmon or sacred space, where Mologa offered protection and sanctuary. The […]
Fionnchú: The White Hound
Arriving in Mitchelstown in the late afternoon the light was fading and a thin mizzle had set in but we thought we could manage a trip to two wells dedicated to the town saint, St Fanahan, or, as he is known as Gaeilge, St Fionnchú: the white hound. St Fanahans’s Well, Tobar Naomh Fionnchú St […]
En route to Mitchelstown
Well hunting is always an enjoyable experience especially when you devote a few days to it. Wells in North Cork beckoned. We stayed for a few days in Mitchelstown in the very comfortable Ballinwillin House, complete with free range deers and boars. A welcome break on the M8 on the way up saw a diversion […]
St Patrick’s Holy Well, Castle Blackwater
Below the castle and near the margin of the river, is a holy well, dedicated to St. Patrick, on whose anniversary a patron is held here: the water is remarkably pure, and is much esteemed by the peasantry for its supposed virtues. Cork, A Topographical Dictionary of Parishes, Towns and Villages of Cork City and […]
St Peter & St Paul’s Holy Well, near Skibbereen
Browsing the Schools’ Folklore Collection as you do (if you haven’t you should – it’s a mine of information: duchás.ie) I came across a hitherto unknown well just outside Skibbereen. It wasn’t listed in the Archaeological Inventory and I could find no reference to it anywhere else. It sounded fascinating though. This is what Seóirse […]