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 […]
Warts
A fairy Fort, a foxy woman & an enigmatic stone: Meenvane, Schull
Sometimes things come together in unexpected ways and at unexpected moments! Visiting my hairdresser recently, the talk of course got round to holy wells! She mentioned that she had been discussing local wells with another client and the well at Meenvane had come up. I confessed that I thought I had mis-identified this one and […]
Diversions in Tipperary: Part 3. Tobar Íosa, Cahir
It’s been a while since we had a proper fieldtrip and this one was bittersweet – the first time we had ventured out without Robert, our dear friend, husband of Finola, and one half of Roaringwater Journal, who sadly passed away in March. Although much missed he seemed ever present and I know he would […]
Vikings, priests & enigmatic bullauns in South Kerry
Recently my friend Pól sent me some interesting information about a well near Bonane in South Kerry and wondered if I had visited it yet: Tobar na Lochlannach. Tá an tobar sin suidhte ar an dtaobh thiar den pharóisde ar bharr an chnuic, Nuair bhí na Lochlannaigh ag déanamh beorach as an bhfraoich gheibhidís uisge […]
The Good, the Mad and the Strange: a round up of 2019
A quick round up of some of the more intriguing wells visited in 2019. It’s been a busy year for I officially completed my research on the holy wells in County Cork: 310 wells visited and recorded, and then ventured forth into County Kerry. A long visit to New Zealand followed by a horrible bout […]
Enchantment & Petrification: St Feaghna’s Well, Bonane
This has to be one of the most extraordinary and unusual sites yet visited. Extraordinary in so many ways: from the setting, to the monuments to the folklore. Apologies for the length of this post but I was immersed and enchanted! Veering off the N71 from Glengarriff to Kenmare, you encounter a myriad of tiny […]