3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is actually a Bullaun stone underneath a tree with many clooties tied to it.
4 Cure
This well is said to be a cure for warts, the afflicted person would dip a rag in the well water and then wash their skin with it. They then tie the rag (clootie) to the tree and as the rag decays, so too does their wart.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Amanda Clarke describes her attempt at locating St. Fachtna’s well as being difficult. A local woman directed her to a pier near Rossbrin castle. She was then instructed to walk 50 paces towards a rock with water pouring out of it. (Clarke, 2016) The well itself boasts an exceptional appearance as described by Clarke, “fresh water seeping out from rock into the salt water at the edge of the sea.The water was cold and clear, gathering in a natural basin in the rock, then flowing out into the strand” (Clarke, 2016). Clarke goes on to say that even the pebbles in the basin are colorful and beautiful.
4 Cure
The blessed well cures toothaches and provides a general panacea (SFC 0290, 272- 275)
5 Pattern day
St John’s Eve, June 23rd (Clarke, 2016).
6 Offerings
During the last surge in popularity at the well, practitioners would leave rags tied to a white thorn tree near the well (SFC 0290, 275). That tree has since died. During her visit, Amanda Clarke found coins left in rock crevices and rosaries left as votive offerings (Clarke, 2016).
8 Stories
Dermot Daly, in his entry to the Schools' Collection of folklore says masses may have been said on the nearby hill of Leacha na h'Atóna during penal times (SFC 0290, 276)
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
“clearly signed from the road and approached down a long, damp trackway complete with horsetail shoots. The stone wellhouse, a colourful mound in a pool of bogginess, is semi-circular and bedecked with plastic flowers and eclectic offerings, a wooden cross placed atop. A large slab, now submerged, lies in front where pilgrims would kneel to do their devotions. A little bench placed sideways on, now waterlogged and disappearing amongst the bog grass, once offered a place for quiet contemplation.”
“Perhaps most interesting of all is the horseshoe shape curving around the well – the remains of a fulacht fiadh or burnt mound. Fulachtaí fia are plentiful in the Irish landscape, 4500 have been recorded, but easy to miss as many are eroded or ploughed out. They originally consisted of a mound of stones, a hearth used to heat the stones, and a trough, often lined with wood or stone, which was filled with water and into which the heated stones were placed to warm the water. The most popular theory is that they were used as cooking sites but other possibilities include sweat houses, and sites for dyeing and leather working.They mainly date from the Bronze Age but some continued to be used into the Medieval period. An excellent example of a fulacht fiadh in Cork can be seen at Drombeg.”
“The distinctive horseshoe-shaped mound made by the discarded stones is unusually clear at Trinity Well as it curves around the well and helps form the path taken during the rounds. The well itself seems to be in the very centre of the fulacht fiadh, perhaps replacing the original pit. This suggests that the origins of this intriguing well are very ancient indeed.”
(Clarke, 2016, https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/05/16/trinity-well-newmarket/)
4 Cure
“the water is remarkably potent having many cures attributed to it. It is said to benefit all ailments but various stories tell of its success with legs in particular. One story recounts how a man crippled after an accident did the rounds on a donkey and was later able to walk home. Another local woman took her disabled son who had never walked, carried him on her back and took him to the well for three mornings running – on the third morning he was able to walk. Another story tells how a local chieftain, Maoilseachlainn Mac Amhlaoibh, fell asleep here and awoke with the gift of prophecy.”
(Clarke, 2016, https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/05/16/trinity-well-newmarket/)
5 Pattern day
“The rounds however are paid on Trinity Sunday, a date dedicated to the Blessed Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Ideally you should visit on the three Sundays before and the Sunday afterwards as well.”
(Clarke, 2016, https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/05/16/trinity-well-newmarket/)
6 Offerings
It is “customary to tie a rag on the clootie tree behind the well, a hawthorn adorned with rather faded cloths.”
(Clarke, 2016, https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/05/16/trinity-well-newmarket/)
7 Prayer rounds and stations
“You travel around in a clockwise direction, saying five decades of the rosary. You finish off by taking three sips of water from the well, one for the Father, one for the Son and one for the Holy Spirit.”
(Clarke, 2016, https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/05/16/trinity-well-newmarket/)
“A little fish is also said to live in the well, the sighting of which is of course excellent luck.”
(Clarke, 2016, https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/2016/05/16/trinity-well-newmarket/)
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
This well lies on the estate of the Toberdoney House, in a soft grassy area under a big ash tree. According to the author, the well is best visited in the dormant season, "before the grass, the nettles, and other vigorous weeds take over." The roots of the tree form a beehive-like well-house. A large stone, inscribed with the letters "SH OC 1788" and "TH 1700," serves as a water stop. (Connolly and Moroney, 1998).
4 Cure
No specific cures are mentioned, but it is mentioned that pieces of cloth and clothing used to be tied to the tree, suggesting a hope for cures (Connolly and Moroney, 1998), (Conlon, 1999).
5 Pattern day
Though a thing of the past, it is said that in the early nineteenth century, large crowds gathered on the feast day of the patron saint (which is unclear, as the well used to be called "The Lord's Well" or "Sunday's Well"). Sporting events are said to have occurred (Moroney and Connolly, 1998).
6 Offerings
Pieces of cloth are mentioned; they were tied to the big ash tree (Connolly and Moroney, 1998), (Conlon, 1999).
7 Prayer rounds and stations
In 1835, the Townland Name Book records the well as "a place frequented for ablutions of Stations by the Vulgar" (Conlon, 1998).
9 Publications
"The Holy Wells of County Louth" Larry Conlon (1999)
"Stone and Tree Sheltering Waters: An Exploration of Sacred and Secular Wells in County Louth" Susan Connolly and Anne-Maire Moroney (1998)
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is “located at the entrance to Diswelltown Cottages, south of Castleknock… [it was] previously covered in and a pump erected over it, but this has disappeared…the wall to the rear still has a plaque inscribed ‘Rag Well’.
4 Cure
Cures eye disorders.
6 Offerings
Candles and rags.
9 Publications
Branigan, Gary. 2012. Ancient and Holy Wells of Dublin. Dublin: The History Press Ireland.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
According to French, the well “is located in a field beside the old churchyard about a half a mile north of Kildalkey village on the road to Athboy. The remains of the church is sometimes called St Dympna’s Abbey but the dedication of the abbey which existed at Kildalkey in the eighth and ninth century is unclear” (French 2012: 69). Additionally, “the well does not appear on any Ordnance Survey maps” (French 2012: 70).
4 Cure
The well is said to have “healing powers…when a person dips a ribbon in the well and ties it around their head it will cure headache. In order to cure toothache the person must drink some water from the well. The well is said to keep serious illness away from the area” (French 2012: 70).
5 Pattern day
The pattern is celebrated on 15 May. To celebrate, it is “much visited by people to obtain cures and on the feast day of the saint. A great procession and sports were held annually and each person knelt and prayed at the well” (French 2012: 70).
8 Stories
The story of St Dympna goes as this: “St Dympna is said to have fled from her father to Kildalkey where she took refuge near the old Abbey. She was so sad with her situation that she began to sob and cried so much that a well sprang up at her feet” (French 2012: 70). Furthermore, according to French’s recounting: “in the seventh century Dympna, Damhnait in Irish, was the daughter of an Irish chieftain. Some stories state that her father was a pagan and her mother was a Christian. Her mother died when Dympna was young and the little girl was raised by a nurse. Dympna grew up to be a beautiful girl and a rich chieftain sought her hand in marriage. Her father favoured the advantageous match. Dympna regused the offer of marriage as she wanted to dedicate her life to the service of God and so fled her home. Accompanied by her teacher, St Gerebernus, Dympna and her little band came to Kildalkey before fleeing to the continent. At Gheel, in what is now Belgium, they set up an altar to worship God and began to work with the sick and the poor. Her father followed the group to the continent and searched until he had found the. St Gerebernus was seized and instantly beheaded. The king tried to persuade his daughter to come back to Ireland but she refused and so was beheaded by her own father as his soldiers refused to carry out the deed. Beside the altar a well sprang up and was dedicated to the memory of St Dympna. A holy shrine was erected at Gheel to St Dympna and St Gerebernus. The legend of Dympna was first written down about 1250. About this date the bones of an unknown man and woman were discovered at Gheel and the name ‘Dympna’ was discovered on a brick in one of the marble coffins” (French 2012: 71).
As for the well’s history: “in the 1860’s and 1880’s St Dympna’s Well was recorded as having dried up. There was an effort made in the early twentieth century to revive the pattern at Kildalkey but it failed. By the 1930’s the well was neglected and rarely visited. Cattle used to drink from the well, eroding the sides of the well causing it to close up. In 1999 Kildalkey Active Retirement Association re-opened the well as one of their millennium projects. A wall was erected to protect the well and the restored well was blessed by Fr. Colm Murtagh on 1 October 2000. Kildalkey man, Frank Kelly, penned a poem to commemorate the restoration of the well and his poem and the story of St Dympna is recorded on a commemorative plaque. Since the restoration local people have gathered at the well on the saint’s day” (French 2012: 70).
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. 2012. Meath Holy Wells. Trim: Trim Heritage Centre.
10 More
“St Dympna is the patron saint of Kildalkey and the church, school and graveyard are dedicated to her memory. In the 1930s there was a number of ladies in the parish of Kildalkey named after St Dympna” (French 2012: 70-71). Additionally, “St Dympna is the patroness of the nervous, emotionally disturbed and the mentally ill. She is portrayed in stained glass windows in St Patrick’s Church, Trim and St Mary’s Drogheda” (French 2012: 71).