The limestone of the Burren
The Pinnacle well
in County Clare is situated in the Burren; a place of incredible natural beauty
with a landscape that shifts and changes with every passing hour. The Burren is
the largest karst landscape in all of Europe, with spectacular limestone
pavements interrupted by long and sometimes very deep fissures. It’s geology is
extreme and impressive. The soil rarely dips below 6 degrees centigrade and it
is thought that the extensive amount of rock in the area retains the heat to
create a kind of micro-climate that allows a flora and fauna to flourish that
exists nowhere else in Ireland.
Doolin cave stalactite
The Burren is
rich in archaeological sites dating back to the very earliest period in
Ireland’s history. It has over ninety portal tombs, numerous dolmens, many
religious sites and holy wells. It is also an area rich in caves, very few of
which have been fully explored, although two are open to the public, one of
which has evidence of use by the now extinct Brown Bear. The Doolin Cave is
particularly impressive, having one of the largest stalactites in the world.
The Pinnacle Well (or Tobercornan)
The Pinnacle well
is situated by the verge of the coast road near to Gleninagh Castle. It is a
small spring that fills a stone basin and in 1860 a Gothic Revival style
housing was built over it with a corbelled rubble-stone roof, dressed stone
gable copings and corner pinnacles. It is a very decorative housing, with faux
corner buttresses and an arched doorway into the well that give it the appearance
of a small chapel or oratory.
The well basin
It is unclear if
there was any particular saint associated with this well, but it has always
been considered a holy well, and the fact that such an impressive (and faux
religious) structure was built around it demonstrates just how important it was
considered. The well is also known as Tobercornan, but there is no saint by the
name of ‘Cornan’ in Ireland (at least not a recorded one), although it could be
a mis-spelling of St Cronan who has a strong association with the area. However
the site is still considered a holy place and there are items inside the well
housing that sets it clearly within a religious context.
Offerings at the well
Despite ireland’s
annual rainfall figures, the Burren can be a remarkably dry place and in the
past drought was not unknown. The closeness of the bedrock to the surface and
the network of caves mean that little water collects on the surface. There are
very few rivers and lakes in the area, yet oddly enough Clare probably has the
largest number of holy wells anywhere in Ireland. Although these wells may have
had a religious function and significance, they were also essential for
survival, and in this instance the people of Ballyvaughan relied upon water from
this well during times of drought.
A full view of the pinnacles, buttresses and arched doorway
God of hope, God of healing and blessing, God of refreshment
and peace, shower down upon us with your infinite love and righteousness. Send
your Holy Spirit to fill us with faith. Lead us to green pastures and make us
to lie down by still waters, refreshing our souls and giving us peace; for you
live and reign with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever.
Amen.
How to find it:
The well is right on the roadside of the R477 in the
townland of Gleninagh North, before reaching Ballyvaughan.
Poulnabrone Dolmen.