Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Both tombs 1 and 3, and the upright slab and pair of contiguous upright slabs between the two, were incorporated into the turas which used to be made at the site between the 24th and 29th of June (Ó Danachair 1960, 74). A holy well was also part of the turas but there are conflicting accounts as to its precise location. On the 1st edition of the OS map Tobernahaltora is marked at tomb 1, and in the OSNB (Kilgobban, 36) it is stated that 'the Cromlech contains the Holy Well but it is now dry'. Ó Danachair also places the well here. O'Connell (UCC), however, noted that tomb 2 is locally called 'the well'. On the 2nd edition of the OS map, the holy well is marked about 60m SW of the Altar, and Barrington (1976, 239) and An Seabhac (1939, 288) also refer to it as a separate site, distinct from any of the tombs.

Ó Danachair (1960, 74) recorded the following details about this well; 'A spring, now dry, in a wedge shaped megalithic tomb. Rounds are still made by a few; formerly many came between the 24th and 29th of June. The rounds were made partly at the "altar", which is a small low mound with some upright slabs protruding from it, and partly at the well; these are distant from each other about 150 yards and are marked " Penitential Station " . . . " Altar" and "Tobernahaltora" . . . "Cromlech" on the 1842 map. Between the two are an upright slab and a pair of contiguous upright slabs at which prayers were said during the rounds. Legends : The well dried up or moved when profaned by the taking of water for domestic use. Water from the well would not boil; a fish was found in it and fish and water were restored to the well'.

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 35. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 6 August 2013

References

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

Barrington, T.J. 1976 (new edition 1999) Discovering Kerry. Cork. The Collins Press.

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.

Seabhac, An. 1939 Triocha-Céad Chorca Dhuibhne. Dublin.