Chalk & Cheese: two very different wells near Burnfort

The last two wells in the latest North Cork exploration were like chalk and cheese, wonderful contrasts to show just how different holy wells can be. But first a diversion to Island Wedge tomb (CO042-056001) in the same townland as the first well.

Island Wedge Tomb

This took some finding – just a few miles off the N20 near Burnfort but down a warren of tiny roads, one of which led to a dead end and a cluster of homesteads. Strimmers, cutters, gloves lay strewn around at the side of the road but no signs of any human. We set off to discover the tomb for ourselves and found it in a sloping field just behind the farm. We were amazed at its preservation but later discovered that it had been partly restored when it was excavated in the 1950s.

Nonetheless, it is a wonderful example of a small wedge tomb, around 4000 years old. it retains a timeless air, seemingly forgotten but in good condition. Ancient Ireland has the details.

Back to the small roads and an attempt to find Island Holy Well.

Island Holy Well

From the OS map, this looked like another remote well, across fields and down by a river. We found somewhere to park and himself said I was on my own for this one. It was a pleasant walk through a mown field, full of wildflowers yet also being used as a quarry of some sort.

The GPS led me down towards towards a little wooded copse on the field boundary.

A thick clusters of wildflowers fringed the rim and taking a quick look down, I could see the bank was steep and extensive. The well lay somewhere at the bottom!

Clinging on to the vegetation I gingerly skidded downwards. The area was wet and mossy and a little careful hacking back revealed the well, clear water bubbling out, the surrounding area rich in watermint and watercress.

When Colonel Grove White visited in 1908 he  remarked:

A few people pay rounds here, mostly for sore eyes. There is no particular
day, and it did not look as if it was much frequented when I saw it
in 1908. (Grove White)

I reckon that is still the case! The area seemed to have deteriorated since it was visited by the Archaeological Inventory team for they recorded the following:

At base of steep N-facing hill, on S bank of stream. Roughly rectangular setting of stones (0.6m E-W; 0.45m N-S; D 0.25m) forms well, into which flows water rising c. 0.9m to N. Crude cross carved on upper surface of one stone at well is only indication of holy use…

The cluster of stones described have been dispersed and there was no sign of the cross inscribed on the stone. Once the water was used for sore eyes and it still looked fresh and potent.

This seemed a very secret and otherworldly place. It was odd and slightly disorientating to re emerge into the bright and stark field plus an odd collection of abandoned containers.

Edit: August 2022 and Oliver Looney contacted me to say the well has since been tided up by himself and his son. His 89 year old father requested to be taken there as he had fond memories of drinking the water when he was working in the fields. The well is small and stepped, the water seeping out from under a rock into two small basins.

Wonderful to be able to see it clearly, especially the cross mentioned in the Archaeological Inventory. 

The second holy well lay a couple of miles away but it too sounded as though it had long since been revered and my hopes were not high.

St John’s Holy Well, The Beautiful Well, Tobar Álainn, Toberolann

An entry in the Schools’ Folklore Collection describes how to find the next well:

From Mourne Abbey one goes by a rather hilly road to Burnfort, whose wild hills and close coverts would make a shooting paradise. John seems to be the Christian name of most of the male population of Burnfort, and this is the reason as it was explained to me by residents.
There are two holy wells in the district, both under the patronage of St. John. One is close to Athnaleentha Church and the other, which is known locally as Tobbar Alainn or the Beautiful Well, is at the foot of Bottlehill Mountain. (See Ordnance Survey Map, Second Edition 1903, Cork, Sheet 42 for location of both wells. One well, the one at Athnaleentha is marked as St John the Baptist’s Well, and the other is on the road between Knuttery and Bottlehill, and spelled as Tober Olann.

SFC:291/292:0389

A confusing medley of names straight away! The well is named Toberolan on the historic maps but now referred to as St Johns Well. I wondered if Álainn, meaning beautiful, and described as such in the above quote, was a corruption of Olan which has now become Eoin ie John? ( I have since had it confirmed that the well was originally dedicated to St Olan).

The well was surprisingly easy to locate and expectations were immediately raised by the sight of a sign leading downwards off a long straight road, the verge neatly strimmed.

We managed to park in a layby, restore ourselves with fistfuls of blackberries then crossed the road. There was even a little white gate and stone signage. A long grassy path led downwards.

We proceeded down and an unexpected sight greeted us.

Somewhat garishly painted life size statues of the Holy Family loomed large. This site has obviously been renovated very recently but the statues were, in my opinion, a little too much.

Despite this, the site retains an ancient and secret feel born out by this photograph taken by Dr PG Lee in 1910 and appearing in Colonel Grove White’s Historical & Topical Notes Etc:

The spring still emerges from the bank, the water fresh, clear and abundant. It’s path is now covered by three large slabs of white marble – for health and safety reasons?

Assorted offering are scattered around the bank, older statues mingling with the new

A rag tree overhangs everything, as it did in 1910, many of the rags now green and mossy.

The water was considered to have potent healing powers. There was even a trout:

A pattern is held at Tobarolan on St John’s Eve, and the waters are credited with healing power. Sick people pay rounds there and when they are to be cured a trout appears in the water with his belly turned up. It is said that a girl with a withered hand got cured after paying rounds at this well some years ago.

SFC:ibid

Not everyone treated the water with the correct respect – there’s always one and these North Cork wells are notoriously feisty:

Long ago there lived a man named Noble Johnson. He was a Protestant. He went to this holy well one day to take some of the water. He filled a flask with some of the water, which he took home and put it into a cupboard and locked it. Next day he took it out and put it into the kettle to boil it. After a while he took kettle off the fire to see if water was boiling, but the water was as cold as when he put it into the kettle first. He put water back into flask again, and locked it into cupboard. After a couple of days he said he would try to boil the water again, but when he opened flask again there was no water in it.

SFC: ibid

The pattern day was St John’s Eve and the required rounds were complicated. A detailed and fascinating entry in the Schools’ Folklore, complete with drawing, describes exactly what was required of the pilgrim:

Alms given by the people: money (coppers, sixpence or a shilling), flowers, an old rosary bead, a hairpin, coloured ribbon. The pilgrim begins round of holy well at point A by saying first decade of the rosary at this point, and walks on path round the well stopping at three places between A and B  and saying a decade of the rosary at each point. He says fifth decade at point B next he crosses the stream and approaches the stone marked. In the centre of the stone is a hollow or cavity wherein lies a smooth large fairly round pebble. On the surface of the stone is marked three rows of three crosses each. Pilgrim takes pebble in his right hand and traces with it the sign of the cross. He replaces pebble then approaches the holy well. He takes the vessel used for drinking the water and dips it into the well, drinks a little, throwing what is left away in the vessel. He dips again, drinks a little and throws away what is left. He repeats again the operation of dipping, drinking and throwing away amount left in vessel. This done, he leaves vessel in its place, and the round is done. Most of the items are left on the tree marked in the sketch. Large crowds pay rounds at this well on St John’s Eve (23rd June) and afterwards sojourn to roadside nearby to attend a dance. Dance Is usually held when all pilgrims have paid their rounds. It is expected that up to 500 people from the surrounding districts attend regularly every year and pay these rounds.

SFC:273/274:0389

The stone described so fully above remains but it’s now in the stream itself and is a remarkable artefact.

The smooth large fairly round pebble seems to have disappeared but a spent candle shows the stone is still used. Quite where the dancing took place I can’t imagine as there’s little space down by the well and not much up on the road either.

What a fascinating site enjoying a revival.

Frustratingly I have only since learnt about the other well in nearby Athnaleentha, dedicated to John the Baptist, and will have to return. Here’s a taster of what it looked like in 1910, courtesy again of the remarkable Colonel Grove White

The location of these wells can be found in the Gazetteer.

Many thanks to Oliver Looney for sending me photos of Island Well.