St Abbey's Well

St Abbey's Well

Amanda Clarke

Amanda Clarke

Abbey's Well, dedicated to St Gobnait. The patron saint of Kilshannig is St Gobnit, but she is more commonly known as St Abby

Kilgobnet, County Cork, 46859, 49330

General cure

11 February. Every year on 2/11, rounds are paid to this well. It is like a national holiday for the district. Men, women, and children all turn out in their best style. In front of the well on pattern day are 2 or 3 poor women who supply glasses of water to the pilgrims and are expected to pay at least a penny each. The attendance of the pattern is getting smaller each year.

Rosaries and statues at niches at entrance to the well.

The rounds are usually performed by commencing the rosary in front of the well, saying the Decade there and moving on clockwise round, saying a Decade at each station. There are stones around the well house, the words "Kneel & Pray" scratched into them.

The wellhouse was built on the site of an older structure and looked after by Johnny the Prayers. The graveyard developed around the well.
The old people remember a time when the young men of different townlands of the parish used to assemble in the fields near Abby's Well and compete for the "Championship of the Parish" with hop-step-and-jump and long jump.

It is said that it had been revealed to St Abby that she should get a church built at a spot at where she could see 9 white deer, and that she set out on her travels through Munster in quest of this site. At several places, she saw several white deer, and she blessed those places and a spring gushed forth in each of them. She finally saw nine white deer in Ballyvourney. There she got her church built and there she died beside that church we was buried. Schools' Folklore Collection (03/094: 0363)

Schools' Folklore Collection: 139-142: 0363;