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Ritual site - holy well

Toberinneenboy

Holy well in Kiltacky More, County Clare, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • MedievalIn the record
  • FolkloreNone recorded
  • PhotoWanted
Kiltacky More, Co. Clare53.04006, -8.95646
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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
  • Date or period mentionedmedieval
  • Recorded sizeL 1m; W 0.8m; D 0.6m

What to look for

  • Steps down

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 a wet, shallow NE-SW oriented basin in rough pasture within a semi-karst landscape. Indicated and named ‘Toberinneenboy’ on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map.

Full archaeological record 225 words

In a wet, shallow NE-SW oriented basin in rough pasture within a semi-karst landscape. Indicated and named ‘Toberinneenboy’ on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map. This neglected holy well comprises a bedrock depression (L 1m; Wth 0.8m; D 0.6m), in which water is c. 0.2m deep. There is a step down to the well at the E. The well lies within an enclosure (int. dims. 3.8m E-W; 3.3m N-S) defined by the remains of a drystone wall which incorporates large boulders (L 0.8m; H 0.4-0.6m). There are mature hazel, whitethorn and ash trees within the enclosure, and around it are more trees and boulders. 3.5m to the NE is a tree-lined NW-SE field wall. There is a turlough c. 35m to the ESE, and a fulacht fia (CL011-002002-) c. 186m to the SSW. The OS Letters of 1839 recorded a tradition that this well was dedicated to St Inneboy, ‘a celebrated Dalcassian Virgin, the Patron of Killineeboy, whose memory was celebrated there on the 29th December and to whom many wells throughout this County are sacred’ (Comber 1997, 41). More recently the well appears to have been dedicated to St Colman (Brew 1998, 57). Brew (ibid.) recounted a tradition that there was once a road between this well and a nearby medieval church (CL011-003001-) which lies c. 355m to the NE.

References

  • Brew, F 1998 The Parish of Kilkeedy: a local history, published by Author, Tubber.

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott · Updated 17 January 2023. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

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      Around Toberinneenboy

      Other heritage nearby

      Recorded within 5 km

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