3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Located at the terminus of a thoroughly kept trail (of grass and stone) through a field called Crag Murray (or Flat Swamp) is the ancient St Colomcille's Well. The site immediately surrounding the well includes superstructure that reflects how the well would have looked long ago (thanks to the 2011 efforts of the Kells Archaeological Society). A three-walled structure with a flat rock covers the surface-point of the water, from which a stone-lined waterway extends in the direction of the return path (Dempsey, 2013).
4 Cure
Well said to heal pain in the head, legs, and teeth (French, 2012:22). Rites unknown for 'achieving' curative effects.
5 Pattern day
Pattern day is held annually on the day of St Colmcille's death, June 9th. A Patronal ceremony also takes place here on the eve of the Pattern day (Dempsey, 2013).
7 Prayer rounds and stations
In the early twentieth century throngs of people would celebrate on the eve of the Pattern day. They would recite the Holy Rosary to honor Saint Colmcille and musicians would perform from Kells and sometimes Dublin (French, 2012:21-2).
9 Publications
Dempsey, Jim. Megalithic Ireland. "St Colmcille's Well." http://www.megalithicireland.com/St%20Colmcille's%20Well,%20Kells.html; Thunder, John M. 1886. The Holy Wells of Meath. The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, Fourth Series, 7:68, pp. 656; French, Noel. 2012. Meath Holy Wells. pp. 18-24; http://irelandssacredwater.com/holy-wells-in-ireland-map.html.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Located adjacent to St. Doulagh's church near Balgriffin. The well has a 3 feet deep impoundment and is located within the only free-standing baptistery remaining in Ireland (Branigan, 2012:50-52). Branigan notes that the structure once held plaster frescoes on each of the four walls with images of St. Doulagh, St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Colmcille. A plaque also hung within with a Latin inscription comparing the holy well to Bethesda's sacred pool.
4 Cure
St. Catherine's Pond (enclosed with a stone impoundment and fed from the stream from St. Doulagh's well) was formerly visited to cure eye disorders.
8 Stories
Girls were baptized in the pond, while boys were baptized in the well (Branigan, 2012:50,51).
9 Publications
Branigan, Gary. 2012. Ancient and Holy Wells of Dublin. Dublin: History Press.
Moss, Rachel. 2003. "St Doolagh's Church." Irish Arts Review, 20(2):122-125.
Swan, D. Leo. 1990. “ ‘St Doulagh’s’ Balgriffin.” In Excavations 1989: Summary Accounts of Archaeological Excavations in Ireland, Edited by Isabel Bennett, 18-19. Dublin: Wordwell.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Situated in sandflats along the shore at Doonierin in Drumcliffe Bay is St Colmcille’s Well. This miraculous well springs up from the seabed and is enclosed by a low stone wall with a small gap to allow access to the emerging spring water. The seaweed covered well is only visible and accessible during low tide. The only clue that it is there during high tide is a stick that protrudes from the sea to indicate its location.
4 Cure
Drinking the well water is said to cure arthritis and some claims that it can even cure cancer.
5 Pattern day
June 9th St Colmcilles Feast Day. Rounds of the well are performed barefoot and the spring water drank and also collected in vessels for use throughout the year. Pilgrims proceed to a second well dedicated to St. Colmcill in the nearby townland of Kintogher.
6 Offerings
No offerings or rag tree.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
No stations.
8 Stories
No
9 Publications
No
10 More
This entry contributed by Tamlyn McHugh, please cite her as source.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
On a slope of Carnaween in the Bluestack Mountains, the well is near an ecclesiastical enclosure and a graveyard which was used as a cillín (for buying unbaptised infants) into the 1930s. The beautiful situation of the well makes it easy to understand why it was chosen by those wishing to seek a religious life apart from the world (a dísert, named for the desert abodes sought by early Christian hermits). The site also has an altar called a Mass Rock.
4 Cure
The well water is thought to have had many cures, but more notably, the soil of the vicinity was thought to rid rodents and other pests from one's home and fields if sprinkled there.
5 Pattern day
St Colmcille's day, the ninth of June, was the main visitation day on which pilgrims also climbed Carnaween (also associated with the saint). By the later twentieth century, visitation shifted to the first Sunday in June.
10 More
This site is actively being researched by Dr. Fiona Beglane of the Sligo Institute of Technology.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is enclosed in a dry stone square structure beneath a cliff. During the twentieth century, hazel bushes grew around the well site and were recipients of votive offerings until recently. In a 2010 renovation, ten metres on either side of the well were cleared and additions were made to the site. The well and turas grounds are now separated from the road by a low stone wall. Another stone structure to the left of the well enshrines two tablets, one explaining who St Colmcille is and the other noting the rounds to be performed in the wellside turas with St. Colmcille's prayer. A small statue of the saint (under 12 inches in height) is behind glass in the same structure. The well structure now has a large cairn of stones behind and on top of it as it appeared in photos from 1900 (see Nic Chearáin, 2012:25).
4 Cure
The well is known as a cure-all. Cures particularly mentioned in the locality include toothache and aching limbs. Brídiín Nic Chearáin notes that if a petitioner slept beside the well, a cure was assured (2012:28).
5 Pattern day
The Pattern Day is June 9th (St Colmcille's Day), but the turas continues from June 9 through the 17th (a novena). Most people asked reported visiting during one of the nine days if they visited at all, but some came to the well on each of the nine days in 2017.
6 Offerings
Votives are now deposited on top of the well structure. These include candles, rosary beads, small religious statutes, empty medication bottles, sports trophies, limpet shells, hair ornaments, children's toys, and a water bottle brought from Lourdes.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
The turas was punctuated by three cross-inscribed stones. At the first one says 5 Our Father's, 5 Hail Mary's and 5 Gloria's. This is repeated at the second station stone. At the 3rd station, the numbers of prayers are seven of each. When stations are completed, one says the Rosary at the well walking around the well cairn three times and leaving a stone on the cairn with each circumambulation. After the completion of prayers, one may access the well water to bless oneself
8 Stories
St Colmcille was to have mislaid some books on one of his journeys. He prayed to find them and then spotted a deer with his books on its back. The deer managed to slide the books down into an orderly pile beside the well
9 Publications
The digitized Schools Folklore Scheme has accounts of the well.
Nic Chearáin, Brídiín. 2012. The Holy Wells of Fanad. Gaeltacht Bheo Fhánada: Fanad, Co. Donegal.
Lacey, Brian, Eamon Cody and Claire Cotter 2013. Archaeological Survey of County Donegal : A Description of the Field Antiquities from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th Century A.D. Donegal Heritage Office.
In his Life of Colmcille, Manus O'Donnell (d. 1564) wrote about the book-returning deer (see Lacey, Brian. 1998. Manus O’Donnell’s life of Colum Cille. Dublin: The Four Courts Press.).