A couple of books have recently drawn my attention to the fascinating phenomenon of blessed clay/earth. The Holy Wells of Ireland: Sacred Realms & Popular Domains (Indiana Press, 2023) contains a variety of interesting essays covering all subjects connected with holy wells – I even have an article – but the one that is specially […]
St Patrick
Set in Stone: an exploration of saintly imprints
In the middle of a small road leading to the Swiss Cottage in Cahir, County Tipperary , is a lozenge shape, inlaid with stones – but look carefully and two large scoops can be seen in the centre. These are described as imprints left by St Patrick’s knees when he knelt down to pray whilst […]
The Sacred Springs of Uisneach
Although having been much side-tracked by the wonders in Fore and marvels in Lemanaghan, the Hill of Uisneach was the reason for our recent visit to County Westmeath. We realised we had never been to the geographic and mythological centre of Ireland and thought it time to visit the Omphalos Hibernian, the very navel of Ireland itself! How very fortunate to discover that were also a few holy wells and sacred springs in the vicinity.
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 […]
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 […]
Found, Forgotten, Revisited: a November round up
A blog highlighting some recently visited wells around County Cork and County Kerry, including some old friends and some new discoveries. It is now reasonable to assume that many holy wells date from before the Christian era and can therefore be hundreds of years old. The first well described may be unusual in that it […]