There are but two holy wells in this parish, one in Ballycrana and the other in Templeboden, both of which are very well kept. The people still visit them on the week preceding the twelfth of August and perform three visits around the well. We go to the one in Ballycrana which is in Mr […]
Schools' Folklore Project
St Colmán’s Well, near Cloyne
We had several attempts at finding this well and were eventually directed towards a farm. The farmer was below tending sheep and waved us on up, telling us that we could drive all the way to the top of the hill where the well lay, not a bother. We drove a fair way up the […]
Lady’s Well, Titeskin, near Cloyne
A few days in east Cork on a holy well expedition proved fascinating and rewarding. The very first well visited was probably one of my all time favourites and really the epitome of all that’s special about Irish holy wells. Lady’s Well, Tobar Mhuire, Titeskin Near the ruins of the old church of Titeskin (or […]
A Forgotten Quartet off the R586
The road between Drimoleague and Bandon offers the opportunity for many holy well diversions – all of them obscure and quite tricky to find, but all worth pursuing. Today there were four wells on the agenda, each clearly marked on the OS map (Discovery Series 86 covers this area). Well of the Baptisms, Tobar a’Bhaiste, Tobernabastia, Nedinagh […]
Two incredibly hard to find wells on the Mizen
I knew these two wells might be a little challenging, but the sun was shining, they were fairly close together and it seemed a great excuse to drive out to the very end of the Mizen Peninsula. Well of the Saints, Tobar na Naomh, Tobaraneeve,Dunlough The drive out to Dunlough Head is stupendous. The roads get […]
Blessed Well, Rossbrin, West Cork
I had heard that a holy well lay somewhere down by the sea at Rossbrin and though it deserved an exploration. First I decided to visit the castle, newly up for sale. This rather wonky but atmospheric stack is all that remains of Fineen O Mahony’s fifteenth century tower house, once renowned for its scholarship […]