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Ritual site - holy well

Toberinneenboy

Holy well in Caherlooskaun, County Clare, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • DateNot stated
  • Folklore1 quote
  • PhotoWanted
Caherlooskaun, Co. Clare52.98340, -9.29750
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Unofficial guide. Not the National Monuments Service, the OPW, Fáilte Ireland or the landowner. Disclaimer

At a glance

  • TypeRitual site - holy well

Picked out from the Archaeological Survey description below.

Can you visit?

  • No source says it is open to the public.Most monuments in Ireland stand on private farmland.
  • Ask the landowner before crossing fields, close gates, leave the stones as you find them.Visiting responsibly
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History and description

In scrub on a steep E-facing slope immediately W of the Kilshanny-Smithstown Road, on the northern outskirts of Kilshanny village, c. 150m W of the Cooleen River. Indicated and named ‘Toberinneenboy’ on the 1840 and 1916 eds. OS 6-inch maps.

Full archaeological record 161 words

In scrub on a steep E-facing slope immediately W of the Kilshanny-Smithstown Road, on the northern outskirts of Kilshanny village, c. 150m W of the Cooleen River. Indicated and named ‘Toberinneenboy’ on the 1840 and 1916 eds. OS 6-inch maps. Noted in the OS Letters (Comber 1997, 99) as ‘dedicated to Inghean-Bhaoith, Patroness of Kilnaboy’. While the well was ‘seldom frequented’ in the 1830s, its water was still reputed to ‘be good for the cure of sore eyes’ (ibid.). Lenihan (1997, 56) found no memory of its dedication to ‘Iníne Baoith’ or evidence for devotion at the site, although it was still known as ‘the blessed well’. He reported that the well was used to water cattle in dry weather. On inspection in 1998 a spring emerging from the base of a rocky outcrop was noted. The water gushes from the rock into a small pool (diam. c. 0.55m), from where it is piped to a stone and a concrete trough.

References

  • Lenihan, E. 1997, The holy wells of Kilshanny Parish. The Other Clare 21, 55–6.

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell · Updated 28 June 2023. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

While the well was ‘seldom frequented’ in the 1830s, its water was still reputed to ‘be good for the cure of sore eyes’ (ibid.).
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

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      Around Toberinneenboy

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