Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Toberbawn or Clear Well was located in green area to the west of residential areas of Hillview Drive overlooking a small stream. This well was described in 1895 as follows; 'Tobberbawn, or Clear Well, is the name of a townland between Upper Kill-of-the-Grange and Cabinteely, where a beautifully clear limpid well exists to this day, and is to this day used as a holy well; and if any persons wish to see how near to the city of Dublin the use of holy wells still prevails, just let them take a walk to the village of Kill, and ask for Tobberbawn and the holy well, and there they can see a sacred well whose Celtic name indicates its hoar antiquity, and there, too, they can see an aged thornbush covered with votive rags' (Stokes 1895, 5).
The well was described by Daly (1957, 21) as follows; 'Toberbawn or Clear Well was between Kill of the Grange and Cabinteely; its water had a specific purity and coolness and was being used as late as 1893. At one time, it certainly was revered as a holy well and considered a curative one, but there is nothing to denote this practice as having been carried on in its later years'. It was piped and later removed in the early 1980s (pers. comm. Liam Clare/Foxrock Local History Club).

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 20 April 2023

References

Daly, M. 1957 Curative wells in old Dublin. Dublin Historical Record 17, 13-24.

Stokes, Rev. G.T. 1895 The antiquities from Kingstown to Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 25, 5-15.