Wells of County Kerry
St Finian's Well, Kenmare
This well, dedicated to to the 7th century St Finian, is found on the shore below the graveyard in Kenmare.
The "cure" it has is for healing sore or infected eyes. A person puts some of the water on the affected eye or eyes and leaves it there for a certain amount of time and their eyes will be healed.
Shells, rosary beads, rags, and small pebbles are left on top of the well structure so that visitors may etch a cross in that rather than on the stones that form the impoundment/shelter.
St Finan's Well, Rathkieran
St Finan's Well (Tobar Fhionáin) is dedicated to St Finian the Leper. The well is located on the north side of St Finan's Bay in Rathkieran townland. The holy well is enclosed in a stone structure with an arched top.
Its waters are thought to cure sore eyes.
The feast day is March 16, but also observed on Archangel Michael's Day on September 29. Rounds are performed --linked with Tobairin holy well nearby.
St Fursey's Well
The Holy Well of Ahachoura or Ahachoura is dedicated to St. Fursey and is on Knocknatobar Mountain in County Kerry.
The well is lined by a “coursed stone” and fed by a natural spring. Many coins line the bottom of the well and there is a stone with a cross etched into it at the top of the well.
The well's water cures blindness as the saint was said to have cured his own blindness at the well. (O'Sullivan and Sheehan, 1996). Coins are thrown into the well.
Its pattern day is traditionally on the last Sunday of July. Stations of the Cross were added to the pilgrimage in the 19th century--starting at the well and leading up the mountain.
O’Sullivan, Ann and John Sheehan eds.,1996. The Iveragh Peninsula: An Archaeological Study of South Kerry. Cork: Cork University Press, 341.
Tobar na nGealt
Local folklore says Tobar na nGealt is dedicated to a saint called Silver Hugh, and it is in Gleann na nGealt, Foillatrisnigh, situated at the bottom of the valley of Gleann na nGealt. A crossing on the Gleann na nGealt stream is called Ath na Gealtán (fools crossing). There is also a ring fort nearby.
St John's Well
St John's Holy Well, also known as Tobar Eoin, is on Dingle Peninsula, and is located down a pathway from Minard Castle. It is a well surrounded by built up stones in a horseshoe pattern with a flat rock at the base of the entrance to the well. The well also has two cross inscribed stones sitting at the front and back of the well and a rag tree nearby. (Amanda Clarke)
The waters of the well are thought to cure headaches and eyesight.
The pattern day is August 29, and there is a rag tree near the well as well as quartz chips and coins thrown into the well. (Lorraine Courtney) Amanda Clarke also reports of a variety of votive offerings left all over the stone wall surrounding the well.
There is a holy well behind at Minard. It is near the sea. There is a wall around the well. The people pay the round on the 29th of August. the people go around the well nine times. Every one that pays the round must get nine berries and at every round they will drop a berry. There is a trout in the well. Any one that will see the trout will be cured. There is a stone standing at the top of the wall and there is a cross on the stone. The people that pay the round leave offerings at that stone. The people leave a few coppers and buttons and pins and the women leave a tassel of their shawl. After you would leave the round paid you would take three sups of the holy water. On taking the water you would bless yourself." (Amanda Clarke)
St Killian's Well
A feature of the Kilmakilloge pattern was watching for the movement of the "miraculous tussocks" in the well (the former Loch Mackeenlaun). The tussocks, described as little floating islands, were clumps of grasses and reeds that would occasionally float across the water. Their movement, particularly on pattern days, was thought to indicate that an answer or cure would come in response to a particular petition and historical accounts record that movement evoked dramatic responses from the gathered crowds. Reputed cures from the waters of St Killian's well included vision problems, lameness, and excessive thirst (Lyne, 1999: 52-78)
Lady’s Well
Also known as Tobar Muire, this well is dedicated to Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, and it is found in the heart of Kenmare. The area is very well maintained with walls and gates, and it's carefully preserved and landscaped. After entering the gates, there is a pathway “complete with a kissing gate” (Amanda Clarke). The well sits below a statue of Our Lady and is rectangular with concrete on all four sides.
August 15 is the pattern day, and the water is thought to cure general illness.
Crosses are inscribed and small stones are left by visitors around the well.
St Mary's Holy Well
Also known as Our Lady's Well, the well is located at the back of a car park behind the Killarney town hall and down a few steps. The well has a turret style superstructure with a slate roof. A sign notes that it has been a place of pilgrimage since 1302.
Visitors have come in the past seeking cures for sore throats and sore eyes.
March 25 is the pattern day, and August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption. Coins and small stones have been thrown into the well. Pilgrims circumambulate the well clockwise five times saying decades of the rosary. Formerly, pilgrims would wash their faces or eyes with the water, though as the well is now in a car park, this is not usual today.
"There was once a man who was very wicked. He had a son who was very wicked too. One day the man went to the well. He said he would not pray. He saw a fish below. He put his hand down to catch the fish. He slipped and fell in and his son saw him and jumped in to save his father but he could not and fell in and was drowned too. A long time ago there was a trout in the well, Anyone who saw the trout was cured of their illness. A man said he would catch the trout. he brought a net and when the trout appeared he caught him. When he was pulling up the net his hand fell dead to his side. When he tried to stand up he could not, his legs and hand were paralysed. The trout changed into a stone and remained a stone forever. It can still be seen at the edge of the well." (Amanda Clarke)
St Mochuda's Well
This well, also known as Cuddy’s Well or Cloc Mo Cuda, is dedicated to St Mochuda. It's located in Knockreer, Killarney in County Kerry in a field by a tree with a white cross painted on it and is surrounded by stones.
Its pattern day is May 16.
This is a Triduum site (three consecutive days of visitation begin on Maundy Thursday). The way to the Cloc was originally a public right of way. It was closed and enclosed in Kenmare Demesne by a Grand Jury Order. Amanda Clarke gave the steps of the pilgrimage as follows:
The pilgrim arrived at dawn. She brought with her:
(a) a quantity of plain water in a vessel.
(b) Three rags. They were left behind and hung on a Palm tree overhanging the stone.
(c) Some fragments of Bread. If the Robin appeared rags were given him. Some think that a priest (was) known as the “Robin” and that the “rags” were in reality the altar linen. Tradition says if the robin appears your request will be granted.
(D) The pilgrim returned to Killarney heard Mass and communicated.
(E) The prayers prescribed were the Rosary but if the pilgirm had to hurry away 5 Paters, Aves and Gloria’s sufficed.
(F) The water used by the Pilgrim from the stone for blessings was to be replaced from the stone brought. The vessel was not to be brought back.
(G) The Credo was to be recited on the flag."
(Amanda Clarke)
Clarke provides the following story from the Schools Folklore Collection:
Long, long ago there was a monk living in the monastery of Innisfallen. He used to go for a walk every day. One day when he was teaching in the school he told the pupils that he would be back to say the Angelus with them. He went away and was not gone far when he was attracted by the singing of a robin. The music was so delightful that he followed the robin and when he had travelled about four miles after the bird he heard the Angelus bell ringing. He knelt down to say the Angelus and he was so tired he fell asleep. He remained there for nearly two hundred years and when he woke up the place was changed entirely. The print of his two knees remained on the stone, and that is why they called it Cloc Mo Cuda." (Amanda Clarke)
St Mughain’s Well
Also known as Smith's Well, this well dedicated to St Mughain on Sherkin Island, Kilmoon is quite overgrown now, and has general curative properties.
The pattern day for this well is on December 15. Visitors leave behind rosary beads, flowers, and pieces of rag.
If a bird is heard singing when any person suffering from a disease is praying there, it is considered a very good sign of being cured. It is said the old well takes its name (Tobar na Gabha – well of the blacksmith) from an old smith who was supposed to live nearby in former times. (Clarke)
Clarke, Amanda. "Gazetteer." Holy Wells of Cork. Accessed November 31, 2018.
Wells of St Peter and St Paul
St Peter’s Well and St Paul’s Well in Kilpadder are just a few metres apart. Amanda Clarke gives this account: On the side of the road there is a kissing gate and after walking further into the woods there is another gate. Upon entering the gate there is an enclosed crucifixion table. The Archaeological Inventory describes the well as: “In a wooded area, at the base of outcropping rock on the S bank of the Owbeg River and c. 30m W of St Paul’s Well (KE094-001003-). This well, which is dedicated to St Peter, is situated in the W half of a roughly oval area (diam. c. 80m E-W) which is enclosed by an earthen bank and accessed by a gate at W. Inside the enclosing bank is a path around which pilgrims to the well walk while making the ’rounds’. The well (D 0.37m) is surrounded by three upright stone slabs enclosing a rectangular area (0.65m N-S; 0.5m E-W) which abuts the N face of the outcropping rock and it is fed by a natural spring from which a steady flow of water emerges. The outcropping rock above the well bears three roughly incised crosses (KE094-001002-) on its N face and a statue and cups lie on its upper surface. The smaller St Paul’s Well (KE094-001003-) is c. 30m to the E at the edge of the path. Nearby, a crucifix and a statue are housed in a purpose-built shelter. According to local information, ’rounds’ continue to be made here on 28/29 June. St Peter’s well is the first station and St Paul’s well is the second station visited during the ’rounds’ here.” (Amanda Clarke)
June 29 is the pattern day. Five Hail Mary's are said at each well as one round.
Into the 1980s, a pattern Mass was still held every year. For some time in the 20thcentury, St. Paul's well was forgotten until older residents prompted its revival.
Wether's Well
Wether's Well, dedicated to St Brendan, is in Tubrid townland in Ardfent Parish in an area of pasture land. There is a chapel on site and the spring/holy well is located on the left side of the chapel as you approach it. The well itself is enclosed by an oval shaped fence. There is a stone altar that holds three figures, although the figures do not have clear faces as pilgrims have scratched crosses onto them over the years. The well itself is fed from groundwater and a pipe has been installed so the water can run through it for the pilgrims to complete their rounds. (Talbot-Crosbie, 1911)
Various cures have been reported although none have been confirmed.
St Brendan's Day is May 16.
The altar is constantly covered with votive offerings such as images, beads, containers to hold rain water, pencils, buttons, and pins.
The well is circled clockwise by pilgrims as they say the rosary, and water is sipped from the well.
Local stories say that St Brendan was said to have been baptized in the well.
Talbot-Crosbie, Bligh. “Tobar na Molt.” Kerry Archeological Magazine, October 2011.