There are some very interesting saints encountered when pursuing holy wells in the south west of Ireland and one of my favourites is St Brendan, usually known as the Navigator. His feast day is coming up on the 16th May so it seems timely to explore his life story which can be traced via holy wells in counties Cork and Kerry, with occasional sorties elsewhere
St Brendan
A mysterious well at the end of the world – St Erc, Kerry Head
I have unsuccessfully tried to find St Erc’s Well on two previous occasion and written about my first experience here. It has played on my mind however, and another trip to North Kerry in the company of Himself and Finola from Roaringwater Journal, provided an opportunity for a third, and hopefully, fruitful exploration. St Erc’s […]
Ringing in the old & the new: a round up of explorations in 2024
It’a always interesting to look back on a year and see where I’ve been and what I’ve done. It didn’t feel as though I’d visited many holy wells this year as much of my time had been taken up with the project Well, Well, Well?, working with artist Marie Brett. This immersive and creative project […]
An Irish Pilgrim Journey
A quick shout out out to the Irish Pilgrim Journey which is taking place from 15- 22th June this year, 2024, described as: … a fully-guided mid-summer walk along Ireland’s passported pilgrim paths, with all logistics taken care of, it enables walkers to obtain the required stamps for the Irish Pilgrim Passport in 6 days […]
In Praise of Well Keepers
I am in the early stages of collaborating on an art project focusing on holy wells. Marie Brett is leading the project and approached me with inquiries about locating possible holy wells. After a lot of difficulty I narrowed it down to four wells, two in North Cork and two in North Kerry, all visited […]
Secrets, signs and sore eyes: Lispole part 2
After our early morning searching for heads, Billy and I left the others to coffee and went in search of Tobar an Rúin, the Well of the Secret, which proved to be exceptionally well named! Tobar an Rúin, Toberaroon, Well of the Secret, St Gobnait’s Well Encouragingly Billy had been to the well the year […]