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Ritual site - holy well

Tobermurry

Holy well in Balla, County Mayo, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • DateNot stated
  • Folklore1 quote
  • PhotoWanted
Balla, Co. Mayo53.80531, -9.13237
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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 the village of Balla, located immediately to W of a building (MA090-024003-), known locally as the 'Rest House', and c. 50m E of a graveyard (MA090-024005-) and a round tower (MA090-024004-).

Full archaeological record 188 words

In the village of Balla, located immediately to W of a building (MA090-024003-), known locally as the 'Rest House', and c. 50m E of a graveyard (MA090-024005-) and a round tower (MA090-024004-).

This well is named ‘Tobermurray’ on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a circular, stone-lined depression (diam. 1.3m) linked to a narrow drain or gully (Wth 0.4m; D 0.55m), which extends to WSW beneath a property/boundary wall. A small modern shrine to the Blessed Virgin stands at the point where the gully extends beneath the wall. The well is dry and infilled with rubble. The OS Letters (1838) record that that a station was traditionally performed at the well on 15th August, and that an inscribed stone (MA090-024007-) and two penitential stations (MA090-024002-; MA090-024006-) were associated with the well. A modern spring-fed well, located 6m to NNW has superseded the traditional well. It is enclosed in a semi-circular curve at SW–N by a modern stone wall, incorporated into the line of a property wall, and by iron railings on the E side, and is approached from E by a slopping cobbled path.

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Jane O'Shaughnessy · Updated 25 June 2018. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

The OS Letters (1838) record that that a station was traditionally performed at the well on 15th August, and that an inscribed stone (MA090-024007-) and two penitential stations (MA090-024002-; MA090-024006-) were associated with the well.
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

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      Around Tobermurry

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