Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on the SW bank of a small NW-SE stream, c. 50m SE of the bridge (MO031-105----) and c. 80m NNE of Maheross church (MO031-035001-). A well close to the bridge is depicted on an illustration of Essex Castle (MO031-034001-) from 1736, albeit on the NE side of the stream. Shirley (1845, 171) records a well near the church, which was known locally as ‘Tober Inver’, but as there was no saint of this name in the martyrologies he thought the saint’s name was a corruption of Fionnbharr. However, the well is more likely to have been named after Finnian of Movila, Co. Down rather than Fionnbharr of Cork (Ó Riain 2011, 333-4). A well described as ‘Tober Inver’ in gothic lettering is depicted on the 1834 and 1907 editions of the OS 6-inch map. The well does not survive, although there is a shrine to St. Fionnbharr.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revised upload: 20 July 2017

References

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Shirley, E.P. 1845 Some account of the territory or dominion of Farney, in the Province of Ulster. London. Pickering

Shirley, E.P. 1879 (Reprint 1988) The history of the county of Monaghan. London. Pickering.