Dublin Core
Title
St Mary's Well (Mayo)
Creator
Brendan McGowan
Description of Well Item Type Metadata
1 Name of well and saint
St. Mary's Well (AKA Tobar Mhuire/Tober-Murry/Lady Well)
2 Townland, County, GPS
Townland of Rosserk, Co. Mayo (54.168827, -9.144540)
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is situated at the confluence of the Rosserk River and the River Moy (west bank), near Rosserk Abbey. The well is situated about 500m from a small carpark situated on the right hand side of the road, before Rosserk Abbey. It is accessed via a boreen, known as 'the Rosary Path'.
4 Cure
The waters from the well are credited with curative properties, particularity for eyes.
5 Pattern day
The Patron Day was 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but pilgrims visited from that day until 8 September.
6 Offerings
Mostly rosary beads, scapulars and religious statues, as well as rags or tissue paper. Mostly attached to a hawthorn tree, which grows from the roof of the stone structure over the well, but also on other hawthorn trees in the immediate vicinity and on nearby fencing.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
There are a several numbered spots at the site.
9 Publications
1. Monsignor O'Hara (1898) "Rosserk and Moyne, Co. Mayo". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Fifth Series, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 258-263.
2. John O'Donovan/Michael O'Flanagan (1927) 'Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the County of Mayo: collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838'.
2. John O'Donovan/Michael O'Flanagan (1927) 'Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the County of Mayo: collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838'.
10 More
According to tradition, the well is situated at the site of an apparition of the Virgin Mary that took place c. 1680.
In 1798, a local landowner named John Lynott built a little stone-vaulted building over the well; an inscription reads: 'This chapel was built in honour of the Blessed Virgin in the year of Our Lord 1798, by John Lynott, of Rosserk.' Beneath this inscription is a large figure of a dove with the words 'Pax' (peace) and 'Amor' (Love). Beneath this are two other slabs with inscriptions in Latin, bearing the years 1684 and 1810.
See also: http://www.sacredlandscapes.ie/tobar-mhuire.html
In 1798, a local landowner named John Lynott built a little stone-vaulted building over the well; an inscription reads: 'This chapel was built in honour of the Blessed Virgin in the year of Our Lord 1798, by John Lynott, of Rosserk.' Beneath this inscription is a large figure of a dove with the words 'Pax' (peace) and 'Amor' (Love). Beneath this are two other slabs with inscriptions in Latin, bearing the years 1684 and 1810.
See also: http://www.sacredlandscapes.ie/tobar-mhuire.html