Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated 4.5m E of a field boundary, in flat pasture. The monument is heavily masked by scrub vegetation. The monument is a rectangular depression ( L 3.4m N-S; Wth. 2.6m E-W) much obscured by bramble overgrowth. The first two in a series of steps (L 0.5m; Wth. 0.2m; D 0.3m) are visible in the N edge of the depression descending from N to W. The well has been filled-in with rubble to a depth of c. 0.7m from ground level. The well was archaeologically excavated by Eachtra under licence No. 04E0414 in 2005 but no dating evidence or associated artefacts were recovered.
Described in 2005 as following; 'The well was in a dilapidated condition, surviving as a depression filled with loose stones and debris which was heavily overgrown. O’Connor (2003) stated that in the past a low wall had surrounded the well, evidenced by a photograph taken in 1907, but the wall no longer exists. The well is near to the western boundary of a field where a relict pilgrim path had run between Mungret Abbey and Templemungret. A painting called Blind Girl at the Holy Well by the 19th-century artist Frederick Burton, whose father owned land immediately south of Mungret Abbey, was reportedly inspired by Toberpatrick and may provide evidence of the ‘cures’ or traditions associated with the well.
The sod was removed back from the well walls in two locations and showed that the original cutting of the well was c. 1m wider than where the walls were built. It appeared that, once the walls had been built, larger limestone was backfilled behind them. Therefore, the well is a roughly square revetted void that contains a smaller subcircular holy well, with internal measurements of 2.4m by 2.8m, on its western base. All stones used in the construction were of local grey sandstone and varied in size. The walls of the holy well survived to varying degrees. The well was cleared to a maximum depth of 1.25m. It was best preserved in the south-western side, where up to seven courses were visible. No artefacts were recovered from the material that was removed from the holy well void. Furthermore, no secure ecofactual evidence was discovered and as a result the date of holy well construction, use and disuse remain unknown. The holy well site probably originates from domestic usage in the medieval period due to its proximity to the ecclesiastical complex, only later to develop into a site with religious significance. Alternatively, it could hold origins earlier than the medieval period, as many such sites held pagan significance long before the coming of Christianity'.
Ó Danachair (1955, 214) recorded the following details about this holy well; ‘Toberpatrick on 1840 map. A well about eight feet square and seven feet deep, with a flight of steps leading down to water level. No devotions now. "There are no stations performed here". OSNB. Legends: The well lost its virtues when a woman washed clothes in it'.

See attached photo taken in 1954 by Caoimhín Ó Danachair, courtesy of and © National Folklore Collection, UCD. The Photographic Collection, F025.21.00406 accessible online at www.duchas.ie/en/cbeg/31034.

Compiled by: Denis Power

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 2 October 2020

References

O’Connor, J. 2003 On Shannon’s Shore: A History of Mungret Parish. Limerick.

Ó Danachair, C. 1955 The Holy Wells of County Limerick Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 85, 193-217

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.