Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Just SW of a tower house (CL002-007001-) on level ground in good pasture on the S shore of Galway Bay, c. 90m S of a raised shingle beach. Recorded as ‘Tobernacrobaneeve’ on the 1842 OS 6-inch map, as ‘Tobernacrobaneede’ on the 1915 ed. and ‘Tobar na Croiche Naoimhe’ on Robinson’s map (1977). The name, which refers to the Holy Cross, suggests the patron of the parish has been forgotten (Westropp 1900, 424). A natural spring enclosed by a 16th-century wellhouse (int. dims. 1.7m NNE–SSW x 1.2m; H 2m) built of undressed, coursed, mortared limestone, with additional cairn-like feature (8m N–S x 4.5m) built up on its outside. It is entered by a small pointed- arched doorway at its NNE end and a forecourt to its N contains a N-S line of flagged seating. An unroofed alcove (L 1m; D 0.5m), which may have contained a statue, is built into the façade W of entrance and a rectangular water trough (L 1m; Wth 0.66m; H 0.23m; D 0.17m), with a drain-hole in its N end, sits just NE. A grave slab (CL002-007003-) built into Gleninagh Lodge c. 55m SSE may originally have been associated with this site. It is one of two holy wells recorded in Gleninagh (Doolan 1991, 168). The second, Tobar Chornáin (CL002-01001-), lies c. 1km ESE. An ecclesiastical enclosure containing a church, graveyard and associated remains (CL002-008001- to CL002-008007-) lie c. 250m to the S.

The following images have been uploaded:
CL002-007002-_01.jpg Wellhouse from NE.
CL002-007002-_02.jpg Well interior.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Ros Ó Maoldúin

Date of upload: 1 December 2020

References

Westropp, T.J. 1900 Excursions of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Summer meeting, 1900. Description of the places visited. Section IV. Fourth excursion. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 10, 420-26.

Doolan, L. 1991 Lore and cures and blessed wells. In J. W. O'Connell and A. Korff (eds.), The book of the Burren, 155-71. Tír Eolas, Newtownlynch, Kinvara, Co. Galway.