Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

St. Nicholas's Well/Tobar Niocláis: This well is now dry. The water has been diverted to drain the field and it now issues about 100m downslope to N. A cross-inscribed stone which stood 9 feet (2.7m) W of the well (OSNB Ballyduff, 18) now lies loose on the surface. It is a small, thin slab measuring .55m x .37m x .06m thick. On one face is a simple incised Latin cross, with T-bar terminals to head and arms. St. Nicholas is the patron Saint of Ballyduff Parish and the site was visited by large numbers of people on his feast day, the 6th of December. The field in which it is located is known as Páirc an Turasa and 3 circuits of the whole field were made as part of the turas (Ó Danachair 1960, 71).

Folklore collected from Ballyduff School about the Holy Well of St Nicholas and the cross-inscribed slab recorded the following tradition; 'The Holy Well of St.Nicholas is situated in the townland of Liscarney, parish of Ballyduff, Castlegregory ,on the slope of a hill overlooking Brandon Bay. The waters of the well itself have been drained into an adjoining field but the site of the well is marked by a shallow depression.Overlooking it is a flat stone with an incised cross of which I give a sketch. The stone is uniquely shaped and is placed on a small mound at a distance of about two yards from the well. The field where the well is situated measures about 120yds x 80 yds and is known as Páirc an Turusa. 'Rounds' were made round this field when the well was visited by those suffering from some eyes. There seems to have been no special days set apart for paying these rounds but the feast of St Nicholas was apparently a very popular day for making the pilgrimage. The rounds were made in the usual way. The pilgrim walked slowly round the field from right to left while he recited the Rosary. This he did three times. It was usual to apply the water of the well to the affected part. It was sometimes drunk but not taken away. When leaving the pilgrim left some small object near the well. Tradition says that on one occasion the well was profaned by a woman from the neighbourhood who took some of the water away to be used for household purposes. When she poured it into a kettle she noticed a little trout swimming in it. The water would not boil so she was obliged to take it back to the well and procure a fresh supply from another source' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0430, Pages 103-4;https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4687702/4685360).

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 918. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 23 May 2022

References

Cuppage, J. 1986 Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne.

OSNB - Ordnance Survey Name Books. Pro-forma books arranged by Civil Parish for recording townland and other name-forms and compiled in the course of the OS 6-inch survey 1824-1841. The name books also include minor names and incidental references to antiquities. National Archives of Ireland.

Ó Danachair, C. 1960 The Holy Wells of Corkaguiney, Co. Kerry. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 67-78.