We’re just back from a short but action-packed few days in County Westmeath which turned out to be full of wonders and astonishment. Perhaps the most amazing was to be found enroute to the early monastic site of Lemanaghan, actually in County Offaly. St Manchán’s Shrine, Boher The first stop was at the little church […]
Schools' Folklore Project
Signs & Serendipity – the changing fortunes of St Finbarr’s Well near Dunmanway
Serendipitous things often occur when looking for holy wells. St Finbarr is patron saint of Cork and his feast day is 25th September. The main pattern has always been at Gougane Barra, the site where he built his original cell, and an open air Mass is held on the Sunday nearest to this date. This […]
St Dominic’s Well, Glanworth & some thoughts on restoration & maintenance
I was recently invited to Glanworth in North Cork to give a talk on holy wells as part of National Heritage Week, and to acknowledge the recent renovation of St Dominic’s Holy Well by the local community groups. I have visited a few times before, each time alarmed by the neglected and sorry state of […]
A day out in Glenville with CHAS
I’ve been a member of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society (CHAS) for some time now but have never ventured out on one of their many interesting expeditions. When I saw they were going on an outing to Glenville in North Cork I was intrigued, especially as one of the places on the itinerary was […]
Heading East: Wandering through Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow
I was recently invited to participate in the the Wellsprings of Éiríu event in County Wexford, organised by Áine Fortune of Embodied Soul. It was a long drive but it is always nice to meet up with like minded people. There were six speakers but what was especially welcome was that Áine left plenty of […]
Travelling hopefully around Tralee
After the enchantment surrounding the adventure to St Erc’s well in the last blog, it is only fair to reveal that not all holy well explorations are so exciting and rewarding. There are about 10 wells around Tralee that I have been intending to visit for years but it’s been hard to muster enthusiasm. Consulting […]