Saint Maolcethair's Well, Kilmalkedar.

Kilmalkedar monastic site

Legend holds that this church and site was built by Saint Maolcethair (Maol Céadair or Maol Céaltair) and Saint Brendan some time in the mid to late 500's. It is a beautiful site that lies in peaceful repose at the foot of Mount Brandon on the Dingle peninsula not far from the Reasc settlement. In fact, this is where the newly signposted route for the turas, or pattern, begins which normally takes place on the 29th June. The feast day of Saint Maolcethair is 14th May. 

A Tau cross with an inscribed Latin cross

The site is littered with all manner of antiquities, including ancient crosses (including one that looks like it may be an unfinished decorated cross), ballaun stones, an old sun dial, some collapsed underground passages, a church and a number of grave slabs and ogham stones. The church itself is an ancient foundation with a twelfth century nave attached. The original church looks somewhat similar to the nearby Brendan's Oratory, but parallels have also been drawn with Cormac's Chapel in Cashel. 

The Alphabet Stone (Latin inscription on the left hand side)

The church houses a small cross and a large grave slab with a Latin inscription down the left hand side. It is thought that the first three letters represent the word 'Domini'. The ruins are an impressive size, but the original church would have been considerably smaller. The chancel and sanctuary were added in the twelfth century. The church is a good example of the Romanesque style, with an impressive doorway and a number of carved heads that have been reasonably well preserved.

The sun dial

Despite his lengthy and impressive genealogical lineage, very little is known of Maolcethair. He was originally from Ulster and the martyrology of Donegal lists his date of death as 636 AD and his lineage stemming from a previously unknown or unlisted Ulster King. Only one small fragment of story exists about his arrival in the area. On arrival from Ulster he undertook to settle the area and learnt of the ways and religious thoughts of the local people who believed in impersonal or ambivalent deities who inhabited the sea and the sky. His message of a single unified and personal  God was apparently well received! His name is slightly peculiar in that it is thought to be a pun relating to the cross of Christ. A legend tells of the cross of Jesus been hewn from a cedar tree and Maolcethair's name incorporates the Irish word for 'cedar'. It may -  at a stretch -  explain the preponderance of crosses on the site!

The well

The holy well is across the road, opposite the monastic site. In the middle ages this site was quite considerable, and wealthy too, being subject to the papal tax. A two-story stone late medieval dwelling was erected (possibly to house clergy and monks) and the well has been incorporated into the side wall at the very front of the house. It has a good flow and runs off through a stone carved channel into an underground culvert with worn stone steps leading down to it. It would appear that some of the original structure of the well has been preserved or re-used when the house was built.

The ogham stone

Almighty God, who in the passion of your blessed Son made an instrument of painful death to be for us the means of life and peace; grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer for his sake; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Detail of the Romanesque doorway

How to find it: The site is very clearly signposted from the ring of Dingle around the peninsula. It lies at the foot of Mount Brandon and is the starting point for the trek up to the top of the mountain. The holy well is at the left hand corner of the ruined house across the road from the site.

A view out over the mountains in Dingle.

Saint Brigid’s Well, Liscannor, County Clare

The cliffs of Moher

There is a wildness in Clare like no other. It is not the bitter and majestic wildness of County Kerry; it is instead a contained wildness. Parts of it look relentlessly barren, but this Burren holds many surprises and many places of beauty both small and vast. Any visitor making their way up the winding roads towards the cliffs of Moher cannot fail to notice a holy well dedicated to Brigid, one of Ireland’s most loved and possibly most visited holy wells. This well has a long history and over time has developed a complicated set of rounds or turas’.  My journey began with a trip to the famous cliffs and I stumbled on this well by accident. I knew of its presence in the area, but my OS map, recently reprinted, oddly decided to leave out all holy well markings. I passed Brigid’s shrine at speed, but couldn’t help but notice her solemn form encased in glass keeping watch over a vista that looked down on small dotted cottages and a small town.

Saint Brigid

The cliffs of Moher reach a maximum of 702 feet above the roaring Atlantic, its name taken from a fort long gone. Twenty different species of birds occupy this fearsome bastion of rock and its views are certainly spectacular. Its wildness has been tamed by a somewhat ugly concrete and stone structure to contain tourists, but it is possible to make the journey along the cliffs where the structure dissolves into crumbling paths that give way to more spectacular views. Away from this exposed magnificence, just a short distance down the road is the little vale of trees that bow in solemn reverence to Brigid’s well.

The holy well entrance

Brigid’s shrine is divided into two sections; the upper sanctuary (Ula Uachtarach) and the lower sanctuary (Ula íochtarach). From the road I pass through a small gap in the low wall into a courtyard area with a large mound in the centre topped with a statue of Saint Brigid encased in glass that sits like a great lantern in the centre with Brigid as its only flame. Various pools are exposed in the circular round, indicating the presence of the well and a white painted lintel brightly exposes the way.  It has a mysterious atmosphere as the sun begins to fall low in the sky and the great cleft in the rock feels curiously daunting. As I enter it is dark and uninviting and the smell of dampness and its embracing coldness has a penitential feel. The walls are dripping with prayer; the petitions for the sick, with expressions of thanksgiving, wails of sorrow and grief and moments of hope. Planted at their centre is a crucifix that looks hewn in hawthorn, worn down by burden and incarnationally present amidst this mass of prayer and devotion. Passing down this rock of ages a few small candles flicker towards the light rattle of water into a trough. Here is the well, said to visited by a fish – an indication that this well is truly ancient in its Christian tradition – the fish being a symbol of Christianity that predates the cross. Passing down this cleft in rock is a little like passing through time to a more ancient faith, to a purity of prayerful expression. This vale of solace is a far cry from the exposure of the cliffs.

Offerings at the well

Pattern days are still observed at this well. There are four in all: the eve of the feast of Saint Brigid, Garland Saturday and Sunday, the last Sunday of July (and its Vigil – a harvest festival to ask blessings on the crops and animals) and the feast of the Assumption in August. In the past great gatherings of many hundreds of people took place here with people from all over County Clare and the Aran Islands who covered the site in small flickering candles as they prayed. The Rite of Saint Brigid at the well is still said today, although in a slightly less demanding format. The pilgrim makes a salutation to Christ, then Brigid and Mary (this is known as a ‘rann’, or ritual verse), reciting numerous ‘Hail Mary’s’ and ‘Our Father’s’ and ‘Creed’s’ before reciting the same at various points along the path through the lower sanctuary and up into the upper sanctuary before finally entering the well.

The cross in the upper sanctuary

The upper sanctuary is accessed by a small winding path that makes its way up through the trees to a stone cross that stands at the entrance to an ancient cemetery, said to be the burial grounds of the Kings of Dái gCais and containing the mausoleum of Cornelius O’Brien. Cornelius O’Brien was an interesting local character who was highly regarded in his day.  He was a solicitor for Ireland from 1811 and became magistrate for Clare. Despite being a Protestant landlord, local Roman Catholics held him in high esteem for his political stance in relation to Ireland and for his care of tenants. He took great care of his tenants houses, ensuring they were always in habitable condition and well maintained and clearly had a great love of the area. He ensured there was ease of access to the cliffs of Moher and paid for pathways to be maintained and the erection of seating, a viewing tower and a structure known as ‘the Round Table’.  In 1840 Cornelius fell seriously ill while in England and sent for water from Liscannor holy well which he promptly drank. Attributing his recovery to the healing waters he endeavoured to restore Saint Brigid’s holy well, which was in a state of considerable disrepair at the time, and he paid for its restoration and greatly encouraged devotion at the site. He returned to Ireland during the famine years and is said to have done all he could to provide food to the starving and later he established a national school for the area. However, like many landlords of the time he was not without a sense of self importance, ensuring that a prominent O’Brien monument would be permanently present at the well after his death and that locals would also remember his presence in connection to the well with his imposing mausoleum overlooking the entire cemetery. A short distance from the well there is another well by the road. This is not a holy well, but one that locals used for washing and gathering water for cooking and cleaning. Cornelius O’Brien created a stone housing for the well, topped by his crest. History was to be unkind to Cornelius as Ireland’s political landscape shifted in a way in which he might have approved of, yet set him squarely on the wrong side of the fence. Despite his own actions and political sentiment, his denomination and his national allegiance was to unfortunately tarnish his record in an area where dreadful atrocities were committed and whose people were unable to distinguish him any longer from the newly deposed ruling elite.

Saint Anthony, to help you find what you lost

It is not difficult to understand why this holy well is so popular, quite apart from the fact that it is on a very popular tourist route. It’s sheltered spot gives a sense of relief to the pilgrim and tourist alike with a feeling of shrouded mystery to its dark cleft leading to the well and its rambling graveyard. This is a place that undoubtedly rewards return visits, yet is best frequented early in the morning or a little later in the evening to avoid the throngs.

The holy well

Rock of ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to thee for dress;

Helpless, look to thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyes are closed in death,

When I soar through tracts unknown,

See thee on thy judgement throne;

Rock of ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in thee.

Augustus Toplady (1740-78)

Looking out from the well

How to find it:

The well is impossible to miss! One mile down the hill from the car park at the cliffs of Moher on the right hand side you will see the statue of Brigid in her glass case surrounded by a low stone wall.

The Stack at the cliffs of Moher

Saint Moling’s Well, County Carlow

Saint Moling's Holy Well

Saint Moling’s well in the parish of County Carlow in St Mullins, is a famous well that to this day still has a significant pattern observed there. The pattern takes place on the feast day of the saint on the last Sunday before the 25^th July and it normally involves marching bands, food stalls, a mass (and sometimes an ecumenical service), school children singing and lots of pilgrims come to bathe their feet. The pattern makes a procession from the holy well itself, up the hill towards the graveyard - the site of Moling’s monastery and possibly the site of his burial.

The stream by the turas

St Mullins is a very beautiful place with the remains of an old motte and bailey perched at the top of a hill alongside a collection of ruined churches, remains of a round tower and even fragments of a high cross. To the left lies the holy well and to the right lies the slow and winding River Barrow shrouded in leafy trees. It has a small café down by the riverbank and is the perfect spot to wile away a sunny afternoon. This is an incredibly pretty spot and a great hidden little gem in the county.

The bathing house below the well

The well is said to have a curious beginning. Saint Moling was said to have been interested in acquiring the wood from one of the five trees of Ireland to build a church on the land that had been granted him by Fingin (of Cashel fame). Saint Laserian had also expressed a great interest in having some of the wood from the Yew of Rossa (which had recently fallen), but Moling - who was very close to Laserian - convinced the saint to part with the precious wood. When the wood arrived on the site, Moling had been working the wood and a small shaving entered his eye causing him great discomfort. One day as a cleric walked past he noted Moling sitting idly by the roadside and he asked him what the matter was. Moling explained that his felt the talons of an eagle, a branch of holly and the scratch of a griffin in his eyelid each time his eye moved, causing him much pain and discomfort. The cleric took pity on Moling and blessed a local well of water and told him to bathe his eye in it until it got better. The Brussels manuscript of the 'Birth and Life of Saint Moling' makes reference to the healing well with many rather obscure allusions to Tobit, but from this passage it seems clear that the well was considered as being a holy well of general healing rather than for anything specific. Today, however, the well’s healing properties are considered to be somewhat specific. It is said to heal ulcers on the feet (which Moling suffered from later in life), eye ailments, a trinitarian visit to cure warts and a cure for flu (whereby the person must duck their head into the freezing cold water three times!). In 1349 visits to the well reached fever pitch from a desperate people living in mortal fear of the plague that was sweeping Ireland at the time. Since then there has been a steady flow of pilgrims - some who come for healing, some for prayer and others just to enjoy the peace and the beauty of the area.

One of the stone basins full of well water

The well is slightly above the lay of the land, which seems a little curious, and it is said to be seven springs rising into a large basin with rocks and lumps of quartz. The waters flow from this through two narrow channels, down into stone basins, which in turn overflow into a trough that winds its way down to the river. The trough in the grass is known as the turas, or the pilgrim’s way. Tales are sometimes told of the bush that grows at the well being from Saint Moling’s original walking stick that he planted there to bathe his eyes, and in the time it took for him to complete this act the dead stick had come to life and sprouted and rooted itself to the spot. However, there are other wells dedicated to Saint Moling which also make this bold claim!

The Motte and Bailey

Up the hill from the well is the seventh century monastic settlement, known in Irish as Tighe Moling (House of Moling). The monastery was built on land gifted by Fingin under the instruction and careful spiritual direction of Saint Aidan from Ferns. It is said that Moling dug out the mile long watercourse to power his mill on the site – a task which took nearly seven years. Today none of the original monastery buildings survive, but you can see the remains of a round tower and a badly weathered fragment of a high cross. Worship continued on the site up to more recent times in the Church of Ireland parish church built on the site in 1811. There are three other church remains on the site, the great church (Tempall Mor) said to be the burial site of the saint. There is another little shrine church that caught my eye. Right at the very back of the settlement a small ruined shrine church perches close to the edge of the hill. It bears a sign that says it was ‘Saint James’ Cell’. Ordinance Field Books from 1839 record two pattern days held here in times past. The first was held on 17^th June in honour of Saint Moling (to commemorate his death in 696) and another on the 25^th July in honour of Saint James. On this day people visited Saint Moling’s well and the Ordinance Field Books describe it exactly as it appears today. As to what the cell of Saint James is, is not very clear at all and much digging in books and papers has not revealed an answer I’m afraid. It is entirely possible that at one time it held a relic of Saint James, brought by a visitor to the site or by one of the monks. Could it be that this cell is the rough granite rubble shrine church of Moling? All other six Medieval church ruins are clustered around it on what is otherwise a substantial and open, flat site.

The St Mullins Site

The High Cross towards the back of the site is now sadly very badly eroded and almost impossible to decipher. The base of the cross was a highly decorated, squat cylinder with carved interlinking spirals in a Celtic design. The mains shaft of the cross is broken and missing and the right arm is also broken.  The central figure in the cross is of a crucified Christ flanked by two other unidentified figures. The cross is thought to date from the ninth century. The Book of Moling (preserved in Trinity College Dublin) is a small Gospel book with some notes on Moling’s life and monastery. The book proclaims him as its scribe, but it is generally believed to have been created at least a century after his death. In it a simplified plan of the monastery can be seen with a plan for the erection of no less than sixteen high crosses: eight dedicated to the prophets, four dedicated to the four evangelists, one to the Holy Spirit and three of uncertain dedication (they may be scriptural crosses). The site was envisaged as a double circle with crosses inside and out of the circular enclosures.

The remains of the High Cross

There is no doubt about it, this is a beautiful spot and on a sunny afternoon it is very easy to soak up its peace. On the far side of the hill the River Barrow winds its way gracefully past the lines of trees while people sip hot drinks and chatter alongside the birdsong. It is a hidden gem and a very beautiful well, truly worth the journey.

Down by the River Barrow

O Lord, lead me in your river of life. Teach me to trust in your stream of grace. May I never fight your current of love, but come instead into the steady flow of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ who with you and the Holy Spirit, live and reign now and for ever.

Amen.

How to find it:

The site is very clearly signposted in St Mullins in County Carlow. The holy well is in the valley where the car park is. Across the road you can see a stream and a small, narrow path. Following this path you come to a small stone building with no roof, and directly above this up on the bank is the holy well. The rest of the St Mullins site is on the top of the hill and the River Barrow is down the other side.

Saint James' Cell

Saint John The Baptist’s Well, Johnswell, County KIlkenny.

The statue of Saint John the Baptist inside the well

Johnswell is a little village in County Kilkenny, composed of a main street with a general goods store, a pub, a few houses and a chapel. In this tiny village is a sizable holy well dedicated to Saint John. It is almost directly opposite the general goods store, on the other side of the street from the chapel, housed in a miniature castle, complete with heavy wooden doors and guarded by two stone lions! A sign proclaims that these ‘improvements’ were finished in 1897.

The well housing

The village itself is quiet and there has been some attempt to make the area around the well a quiet garden of reflection (finished in 2005), but I think the days are long gone when this area was cared for or the well looked at. Someone has painted the walls in living memory, but I don’t think the well gets as much attention as it used to. It is housed in a peculiar structure with heavy wooden doors that you need to kneel down to open, and on opening the doors you are greeted by a broken statue of John the Baptist in gleaming white. He wears his distinctive animal skin clothes and presumably held a staff, but his arms are now broken and he looks like he would be more at home in a pagan Roman temple than anywhere else. The water in the well is deep, cool and clear, but a couple of pipes seem to be siphoning off some of its waters - a practice that is sadly becoming all too common throughout Ireland today. Some of the ancient and original well housing appears to have survived, but in front of the well a concrete drive leads down to a lower portion where the well water enters an enormous rectangular basin (full of water weed) which was presumably for baptism and for bathing the sick.

The large baptismal and bathing basin, full of water weed

The holy well here in Johnswell was once regarded with great significance and attracted many thousands of pilgrims on the feasts of Saint John the Baptist. A wonderful description is given of a group of pilgrims who travelled to the holy well to mark the beheading of John the Baptist. It is a fragment of a memoir, sadly by an anonymous writer, in the early Victorian era. He describes how he travels with a large party of pilgrims who set out from Kilkenny to Johnswell on a journey of approximately twenty-five miles. They didn’t reach their destination until after sunset by which time many beggars, crippled and sick people had already assembled. At this assembly a woman of the area announced that on this particular feast no healings were ever heard of and that there would be no healings that night and instead they would have to return on the feast day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist and then be healed by the waters of the well. It is this event that is said to have inspired John Keegan’s (a poet from County Laois) story ‘Dark Girl’ (meaning blind) of a blind girl who comes to the holy well on the same feast and who does not get healed and returns home downcast and disappointed only later to die from her heartache.

 Saint John the Baptist's holy well

The large pool at the end of the holy well was once used for baptisms. On the eve of the Nativity of John the Baptist people would gather at the far end of the village parallel to the holy well. Here they would begin their preparations for the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist; one of the oldest festivals of the Christian church, celebrated on 24^th June. On this night a huge bonfire would normally be lit for two reasons. Firstly, coinciding with the solstice, the fire is an image of the heat of the ever increasing sun and ties in with John’s own words about himself in relation to Jesus; “I must decrease, that he may increase”. The fire was also thought to be a cleansing event and people would jump over the bonfire to cleanse themselves from sin and then they would make their way to the pool at the holy well and immerse themselves in the water as a cleansing from sin and as a reminder of what John the Baptist asked his own followers to do to get ready to meet with Jesus. Patterns at this well were many, various and always very well attended. In living memory people can recall large crowds at events here, but in recent times it has almost completely disappeared.

One of the lions guarding the well

Curiously the local parish didn’t seem to feature greatly in any of these events -  although presumably the clergy did play their part in the baptisms that took place at the well. The church was built in 1817 and is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was refurbished in 2009 and has a large crucifix on the side of the building giving it a somewhat austere appearance. The interior of the chapel is plain and undecorated.

The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist

Despite the fact that it would probably be a very unpleasant experience to bathe in the waters of the well in the rectangular basin, there is still access to the waters here. It is in pleasant enough, if not slightly neglected surroundings and the vision of Saint John is quite something to behold. Legend has it that this well is attended by angels, and in the night when all is quiet, the faithful who gather at this well in prayer might be lucky enough to hear the wings of the guardians of this sacred spot, and if they do their prayers will surely be answered.

The village sign

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Saviour by the preaching of repentance: lead us to repent according to his preaching and, after his example, constantly to speak the truth, boldly to rebuke vice, and patiently to suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Collect for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Almighty God, who called your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of your Son in birth and death: strengthen us by your grace that, as he suffered for the truth, so we may boldly resist corruption and vice and receive with him the unfading crown of glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 

Amen.

Collect for the Beheading of John the Baptist.

How to find it:

On entering the village travel towards the green which has a large stone sign and a bar/general goods store on one side and the holy well on the other. The well housing faces away from the road and as yet, no keys are required to open the well.