Holy wells a spring of inspiration

Since ancient times, holy wells were used as a place of pilgrimage and for healing, with hundreds of holy wells dotted around West Cork. Amanda Clarke’s  new book looks at the stories and legends behind them. She recently spoke to Sarah Canty

CORK, being a county of superlatives in many things, can add to its feathered cap the mystical holy well. 

According to archaeological surveys of the county, Cork has 358 holy wells, more than any other county, with hundreds dotted around West Cork. In a painstaking seven-year journey, author and photographer Amanda Clarke from Sheep’s Head has located 330 of them, researched the facts and legends behind each and collated her findings in a valuable collection of stories and photographs in her immensely entertaining new book, Holy Wells of County Cork.

Clarke has been a teacher, associate researcher at Leicester University and sometime tutor with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has an MA in Museum and Gallery Education. Since blowing into West Cork 20 years ago, she has had time to develop her enthusiasms for walking, photography, folklore – and holy wells.

 ‘I hope that my book will raise awareness and interest in these often under-valued and compelling monuments and will encourage others to appreciate the unique, historic and frequently complex role they continue to play within the community,’ says Clarke.

Offerings at Tobairin na Sul (Well of the Eyes), near Lough Hyne.

Once upon a time every community in Ireland would have had at least one well which was revered and visited for its healing qualities. Although many holy wells pre-date Christianity and are located near standing stones and ring forts, others are found near churches and mass rocks and were used during penal times when priests performed baptisms and other rituals in secrecy.

They vary in size from lakes, to puddles, from holes in trees to scoops in rocks where there is often no apparent source for the clean, pure and fresh water that resides therein.

Holy wells are known for their healing properties and for being sites where saints would appear. In her research, Clarke identified more than 30 cures attributed to these wells and more than 60 saints, including some very colourful ones, linked to the holy spaces.

Today, holy wells are less popular so many have become abandoned and harder to locate and their mythology is in danger of dying off with elder people’s memories.

Concerned that these important spaces of our heritage might disappear Clarke, ‘stomped over countless boggy fields, clambered up mountains, waded through streams, encountered a few bulls, fell in streams and met some lovely people.’

Many wells are on private lands and in hard-to-find places, so she knocked on many doors to get permission and guidance along the way. Greeted almost always with enthusiasm to share their knowledge Clarke was delighted whenever her host would spontaneously pronounce, ‘I’ll just get my wellies,’ and lead her off to find their own special holy site.

At each well she made notes and took photographs. Later she investigated the history and folklore of each well to add to those she heard from the locals and recorded her findings on an her blog at www.holywellscorkandkerry.com.

According to her findings about a third of wells in the county are completely abandoned. In fact, there were nearly 30 she couldn’t find at all.

However, nearly one third of County Cork’s holy wells are still revered and cared for by families and communities.

Making a pilgrimage to a holy well today, as in the past, for many people still involves adherence to tradition that will include prayers and behaviours in a set order when approaching the well, and the offering of gifts when
leaving. 

Holy Wells of County Cork by Amanda Clarke is 258 pages of historical intrigue and vivid pictures which make for a fascinating read. See wildwayspress.com.

WELLS WERE USED FOR HEALING PURPOSES IN OLDEN DAYS

Lady’s Well, Kealkill

Tucked behind the ancient graveyard near Kealkill, an elegant almost ship-like structure can be seen, painted in striking blue and white. This neatly tended enclosure holds a lifesize statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, erected in the Marian Year of 1954, which gazes down from the illuminated shrine. Slipping in between two gate posts is a multitude of shrines, statues and offerings, all clustered around the rectangular well. The water was reputed to hold a cure for toothache and general aches and pain, and was drank or  applied to an affected area. 

Lady’s Well, Bantry

This remarkable well can be found near Bantry, close to the start of the Sheep’s Head Peninsula. A metal gate, painted silver, leads the pilgrim down some very steep steps cut into the cliff face. The site comprises a holy well and a Mass rock with a bullaun stone placed near the well that has probably been brought in from elsewhere. The water was reputed to contain a cure for sore eyes amongst others. 

Skour Well, Lough Hyne

Skour Well, Tobar na Sceabhrach, Well of the Sloping Hill, is tucked into the side of the road under the shadow of the imposing Knockomagh Woods, Lough Hyne. The water seeps out from below ground and is collected in a roughly made, shallow basin before flowing downhill. The water was renowned for its healing qualities, particularly for earache.