Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

In a wet, shallow NE-SW oriented basin in rough pasture within a semi-karst landscape. Indicated and named ‘Toberinneenboy’ on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map. This neglected holy well comprises a bedrock depression (L 1m; Wth 0.8m; D 0.6m), in which water is c. 0.2m deep. There is a step down to the well at the E. The well lies within an enclosure (int. dims. 3.8m E-W; 3.3m N-S) defined by the remains of a drystone wall which incorporates large boulders (L 0.8m; H 0.4-0.6m). There are mature hazel, whitethorn and ash trees within the enclosure, and around it are more trees and boulders. 3.5m to the NE is a tree-lined NW-SE field wall. There is a turlough c. 35m to the ESE, and a fulacht fia (CL011-002002-) c. 186m to the SSW. The OS Letters of 1839 recorded a tradition that this well was dedicated to St Inneboy, ‘a celebrated Dalcassian Virgin, the Patron of Killineeboy, whose memory was celebrated there on the 29th December and to whom many wells throughout this County are sacred’ (Comber 1997, 41). More recently the well appears to have been dedicated to St Colman (Brew 1998, 57). Brew (ibid.) recounted a tradition that there was once a road between this well and a nearby medieval church (CL011-003001-) which lies c. 355m to the NE.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 17 January 2023

Brew, F 1998 The Parish of Kilkeedy: a local history, published by Author, Tubber.

References

Comber, M. (ed.) 1997 The antiquities of County Clare: John O’Donovan and Eugene Curry: Ordnance Survey Letters 1839. Clasp Press. Ennis.