St Eóin’s Well, Tobar Naomh Eóin, Toberruane (St. John) (Photo by Amanda Clarke)
2 Townland, County, GPS
Asdee, County Kerry
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The entrance to the well is protected by a stone gate and ivy shrubbery that prohibits seeing into the field where pews and other evidence of pilgrim worship are found. The well is surrounded by a wooden fence that leads into the subterranean water. Long stones are stacked at the bottom of the well to pool the water. A stone formation is beside the well and houses a window depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary where offerings are given. The well seems to be in good condition.
4 Cure
The well's cure is for rheumatism and eye ailments like blindness. A story from the School's Folklore Collection explains how a blind man in one eye visited the well, paid his rounds and washed his eye with the water. The eye was washed and a lump fell into the well and was carried away by a fish and he was cured of his blindness. Another story from The Kerryman magazine in 2017 tells a story of a man from the 1880s who brought his nearly blind servant to the well, and she was cured of her blindness. Later, he brings a blind horse to the well to cure it of blindness and it works- at the cost of the master's eyesight.
5 Pattern day
The well's pattern day is on St John’s Day on 24th of June. Pilgrims can be found at the well on other days such as Michaelmas and Saturdays in May.
6 Offerings
Offerings such as metals, candles, and religious imagery are left at the window of the BVM. Strings and rags left as offerings are tied to some of the bushes and vines surrounding the site.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
The pilgrims visiting the well on any of the pilgrimage days will pay 3 rounds whilst repeating a rosary, which is done a total of 3 times.
8 Stories
The well has had multiple saint dedications over its time: St. Eóin’s Well, St. Senan’s Well, and St. Luke's Well.
There is another short story in a book named Holy Wells of North County Kerry (1958) that tells of a man who wants to stop pilgrims from accessing the holy well, so he lets loose a bull to deter the pilgrims. The bull then turned around, charges, and killed the man.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well sits about one mile to the northwest of the village Carrigaline in Ballinrea district. St. John’s well can be found, “along a path between the Ballinrea Road and the Ballea Road (R613), adjacent to the Dun Eoin residential area. It is encased by a bee-hive shaped structure, with a small entrance from which water flows. A damaged cross tops the structure, while five pilgrim crosses are inscribed on the exterior walls” (Scriven, 2013: Liminalentwinings.com). The site is down in a glade and surrounded by trees (Clarke, 2016: holywellscorkandkerry.com).
4 Cure
Tobar Eoin Óg grants a general cure, but specifically the site has been said to cure lifelong blindness in adults, rheumatic pains and motor impairments. A believer may take the waters in order to obtain the spring’s healing benefits if they complete the prescribed rounds.
5 Pattern day
The pattern day is on St. John’s eve (June 23rd). The pattern day coincides with the pagan festival of midsummer. This explains the significance of lighting bonfires during St. John’s eve and particularly near the well site.
6 Offerings
The well enclosure itself is a votive offering from the old man who discovered the site and had his vision restored. There are two entries in the Schools’ Collection of folklore relating to votive offerings at St. John’s Well near Carrigaline. “The relics usually left are - medals, pictures, statues, scapulars, beads and other Holy Objects,” (SFC 0392: 62). “When people come to wash their sores in the well they leave a little holy picture or an Image and sometimes they leave rosary beads and medals… There are crosses on the stones outside of it and if you scratch your money on it you will have twice as much next year. From the people scratching their money the crosses have got six inches deep,” (SFC 0392: 220).
7 Prayer rounds and stations
Amanda Clarke provides a description of the folk liturgy of the site: “The Rosary was led by the priest who circled the well clockwise, stopping at each of the five crosses, another man inscribing the stones. A Decade of the Rosary was said at each one. Later some pilgrims performed the same rounds,” (Clarke, 2016: holyswellscorkandkerry.com).
8 Stories
There are two detailed entries on St. John’s well from separate authors in the Schools’ Collection. The first details the well’s construction:
It is a common belief here that it was discovered by a blind old man - a resident in Ballea
who had a very strange dream in which he was ordered by a voice to make a journey - in what direction is not stated - and stop where he heard water trickling.
The following day he set out, and locating the water, stooped and dug with his fingers until water sprang up, bathing his eyes in the clear water his sight was instantly restored.
The next entry explains why the well carries its namesake:
The name of the well is St. John' s well. It got its name because St. John is supposed to appear there twice a year. There is a tree growing on top of the well an ash tree and the people living in the house near the well cracket a piece off the tree and put it in the fire and they said it would not burn.
9 Publications
Clarke, Amanda. 2016. "Tobar Eoin Óg, St John’s Well, Carrigaline" holywellscorkandkerry.com, June 24th. https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/06/24/tobar-eoin-og-st-johns-well-carrigaline/
Scriven, Richard. 2013. "St John’s Well Carrigaline" liminalentwinings.com, June 24th. http://liminalentwinings.com/st-johns-well-carrigaline/
Schools' Folklore Collection, 0392:62
Schools' Folklore Collection, 0392:220
St Eóin's Well, also referred to Saint Senan's Well or St. Luke's Well.
2 Townland, County, GPS
Asdee, County Kerry
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
St. Eoin's well is a circular well filled with clear water located in a field with a small wooden fence around it. It is below ground, surrounded by stone and has a shrine with a Virgin Mary statue near it.
4 Cure
The well is said to hold a cure for sore eyes and rheumatism. The cure is obtained by "...drink[ing] the well-water. They never bathe in the well but they rub it to the affected part." (SFC, 0403:039)
5 Pattern day
The well is visited "the Saturday before May-day, the first Saturday in May and before St. John's day." (SFC, 0403:038) Mass is held yearly on June 24th.
6 Offerings
Offerings include string/pieces of cloth, pictures of saint john, and medals. The cloth is tied to a bush which grows close to the well.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
"You should go round the well three times and say a rosary while you are going around. This should be done three times." (SFC, 0403:038)
8 Stories
One story from the School Folklore Collection is as follows: "One day as St. Eóin was saying Mass by the well the priest hunters came along. The people got afraid but St. Eóin told them not to be afraid and when he had Mass finished he mounted his horse and the horse rose up into the air and came down on top of Cnoc an Áir." (SFC, 0403:038)
Another story also from the School Folklore Collection: "One day a man who was blind in one eye went to the well and started to do the rounds. When he had the rounds finished he washed his eye with the water from the well. After a while the eye was cured and when he opened his eye he saw the lump that was in it swimming in the water, and after a while a fish came to the top of he water and carried the lump away with him." (SFC, 0403:104)
And another from Dwelling, Place and Environment, written by Walter G Brenneman: "On the eve of her wedding she went to meditate at St Eoin’s well. She sat on the grass before the well, and out from out of a nearby bush there sprung a golden trout, moving on its tail as a salmon skims the across the surface of the water. The trout leapt into the water and disappeared. From the spot where he disappeared, there arose a continuous stream of bubbles. These are considered to be full of power and no doubt refer back to the na bolcca immaiss, or mystic bubble of inspiration of the Well of Segais." (ed David Saemon, Robert Mugerauer,1985)
9 Publications
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666582?pageNum=038
https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2020/03/01/north-kerry-escapade-part-2/
David Saemon and Robert Mugerauer, Dwelling, Place, and Environment, 1985
10 More
Picture from Clarke at https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2020/03/01/north-kerry-escapade-part-2/
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Branigan notes that the well is located “in the car park of James’s Street Church…the new incarnation of St John’s Well [is] in the Tibetan Buddhist Centre of Ireland” (Branigan 2012: 87-88).
5 Pattern day
Branigan records that a “pattern took place on Midsummer’s Eve…when booths [were erected] and bonfires lit” (Branigan 2012: 88).
8 Stories
“St John’s Well has had a very chequered history. It was originally dedicated to St Maighneann, who founded an ecclesiastical settlement in the vicinity called Cill Mhaighneann (Kilmainham). When the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem set up a church and hospital on the site of the present Royal Hospital they rededicated the well to St John the Baptist” (Branigan 2012: 87).
9 Publications
Branigan, Gary. 2012. Ancient and Holy Wells of Ireland. Dublin: The History Press Ireland.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well “is located in the Glen. The well is situated in the woodlands near Glen House. In the 1940s the lands on which the well was situated was held by William Tuite… today the well is dry but the stone surrounds are still preserved in a steep sided bank” (French 2012: 55-56).
6 Offerings
"St Johns Well was once the centre of an annual pilgrimage. Pilgrims used to leave items behind at the well tied to branches of the overhanging trees. Rags, handkerchiefs and pieces of cloth were left as tokens of gratitude – or more often expectancy. By 1942 this custom and the pilgrimage itself had since died out” (French 2012: 55-56)
9 Publications
French, Noel. 2012. Meath Holy Wells. Trim: Meath Heritage Centre.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is located “in the townland of Ballintillen in Ughtyneill…the well which was near Ardemagh Bridge is marked on a map about 1909 but not on the first OS map in 1837” (French 2012: 54). Additionally, French notes that “the well was built of stone with a flag stone covering part of it. The well was square and the people prayed at each corner. Some people said that St Patrick discovered the well when he was in the district” (French 2012: 54).
4 Cure
Cures toothache, warts. French states that “to obtain the cure for warts the person washed the affected area in the well and tied a piece of cloth on the bush beside it. As soon as the cloth would be withered away the wart would be gone” (French 2012: 54).
5 Pattern day
French records that “pilgrims visited the well on St Johns Eve and on the 28 June. Stations were made at the well and pieces of cloth or a ribbon were tied to the bushes near the well…the pilgrim started the station with their back to the well and finished with their back to the well. The piece of cloth they left behind as a token was a sign that the disease was left behind” (French 2012: 54).
8 Stories
“Situated on the roadside just before Ardemagh Bridge Beryl Moore recorded the well in the 1970s as having the name “The Blessed Well”. When Dr. Moore visited the well she met a couple of people who said it was dedicated to St John. There was no memory of a pattern there though a Pattern Green was situated nearby. Robertstown being a St Brigid dedication suggests that the area was an important pagan site in the pre-Christian days, said Moore” (French 2012: 54).
9 Publications
French, Noel. 2012. Meath Holy Wells. Trim: Meath Heritage Centre.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Destroyed by landowners in 2018.
John Thunder described it in the 19th century as "covered by an arch; a front wall conceals it from view; a stone conductor lets out the water; under the spout is a stone flag four feet in length, by one foot six inches in breadth. On the front wall there are two images, now all but defaced, representing, probably, St Mary and St John" (Thunder 1886: 658). Noel French noted that the Salesian Fathers erected a railing around the well when they founded an agricultural college in Warrenstown in 1923. A well surround was constructed in 1944. This structure, along with stone surrounds, and even the trees and landscape undulations were all leveled
flat by new landowners in 2018. They also eradicated the stream leading from the well and
covered the well itself. Two early medieval stone heads, discovered in a 1944 well restoration and incorporated into the superstructure, were planted in the dirt on either side of the covered well.
4 Cure
Thunder states “the strong faith of the country people in the miraculous power of this well to cure maladies was proved by the crowds who frequented it in days gone by” (Thunder 1886: 657). Furthermore, “a popular belief is that the water – which is largely impregnated with iron – comes from Jordan!” (Thunder 1886: 658).
5 Pattern day
“Pilgrims assembled there, from districts far and wide, on the vigil of St John (23rd June)…many people still go there” (Thunder 1886: 657). “Many years ago, a girl having been killed in a faction fight, the people were advised not to assemble at the well, and from that time the Pilgrimage was discouraged” (Thunder 1886: 657). Additionally, “many of the people who visit this well on St John’s Eve remain until 12 o’clock at night, making the stations” (Thunder 1886: 658). Lastly, “there is a field quite near, where Masses used to be offered on St John’s Day; the two faces carved on the wall are believed to represent SS. Peter and Paul” (Thunder 1886: 658).
In 2017, the year prior to the well's destruction, close to 150 pilgrims attended the pattern day.
8 Stories
In 1708, the Irish House of Commons unsuccessfully enacted legislation to prohibit pilgrimages to the well (French, 2012:57). Pattern events continued to encourage large crowds whose behavior was not always seemly and the roman Catholic bishops of the Province of Armagh banned pilgrimages there from their dioceses (French, 2012:57).
French also notes that a fete was held in Warrenstown on 1 July, 1934 in honor of the canonisation of St. John Bosco (founder of the Salesian Order) which featured a procession to the well (2012:59).
9 Publications
Thunder, John M. “The Holy Wells of Meath.” The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Oct 1886-Jan 1887, pp 655-658.
French, Noel. Meath Holy Wells. Trim: Meath Heritage Centre.
It has many names. It went by St. John's Well after the pattern day, St. Anne's well, after the church that was there before the English and it was also known I think, I think but I can't be sure, as Tobbernannny. It was associated with many saints according to my grandmother. St. Tiarnach, St. Laobhain and St. Croonan.
2 Townland, County, GPS
The townland of Annaghkilly in the County of Monaghan near the bridge of Annalore.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
It is only a wet patch in the middle of a field now, it has been disused for many years. There is a stone imprint of the Saint's hand in the field.
4 Cure
It has the cure of skin complaints, toothache and head pain.
5 Pattern day
The pattern was on St. Johns Eve but people went to it when they needed it.
6 Offerings
There was a bush I think where people left rags.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
Unknown, I think you just said a prayer and blessed yourself.
8 Stories
There are conflicting stories about the well. One has it that St. Tiarnach blessed the waters. Another one has it that either St. Croonan or St. Laobhin were looking for a place to found a monastery and came to the ford at the River Finn. An old leper man stood on a stone in the middle of the river and guided people across safely in return for food. The saint was guided across kindly by the man who refused to take a payment for his services and the saint walked back across the water to him and took him by the arm and the hand. The saint guided the man up to the well and the saint put his hand on the stone and took some water and poured it into the stone. He annointed the man and the leper was cured. The saint then went on and in St. Croonan's case founded the monastery of Killycoonagh nearby or in St. Laobhins case, with night falling asked for a sign from God to where he should found his monastery. There was a woody bog in that place then and it was difficult to pass but a strange light appeared in the sky over the hill where the bog was an by its light the saint was able to find his way through the bog to the hill of Killeevan where founded the monastery of Killeevan. In either case, the monasteries always kept lepers at the bridge of Annalore and fed and clothed and looked after them until all the lepers were cured hundreds of years later. The other story is from the time of Cromwell. There was a priest of Killeevan, Father Eamonn Mulligan who when he heard English soldiers were coming went to the chapel of Killeevan to save the Blessed Sacrament. Having saved it, he was hiding the statues when a woman all covered in black arrived at the church and told Father Mulligan that the priest of St. Annes had been hung and there was no one to save the Blessed Sacrament there. Father Mulligan went to Analore and consumed the Holy Communion, he was just coming out the door when he saw a group of Cromwell's soldiers standing at the gate of the church. The soldiers dragged Father Mulligan out of the Church and tortured him and drowned him in the well. They threw his body in the church and set the building on fire. The woman in black who had watched from a distance seen it all and went to tell MacMahon who was the Lord here at the time that the soldiers were near and he better scarper. She came to his house at Lough Roosky and found that Mac Mahon was praying in his chapel in our townland of Killykeskeame but the soldiers followed her and destroyed the church there too, but MacMahon escaped.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well 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 https://holywellsofcork.com/2018/10/27/st-johns-well-minard/)
4 Cure
Headaches and eyesight
5 Pattern day
August 29
6 Offerings
Rag tree near the well as well as quartz chips and coins thrown into the well (Lorraine Courtney, https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/a-pile-with-a-past-1.920475). Amanda Clarke also reports of a variety of votive offerings left all over the stone wall surrounding the well
7 Prayer rounds and stations
"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 https://holywellsofcork.com/2018/10/27/st-johns-well-minard/)
9 Publications
https://holywellsofcork.com/2018/10/27/st-johns-well-minard/
Courtney, Lorraine. "A pile with a past," The Irish Times (Dublin), December 6, 2008.