Wells and springs round Cork

Sunday November 19, 2006 18:44

by John Baker

Photo and write up of holy wells and springs in and around Cork City

When I'm not confronting power in its various forms I like seeking out ancient places in the landscape that have served human beings for a very long time. This acts as an antidote for me to the stresses and strains of taking on monsters like shell and the irish government.

Holy Well at Raffeen, south of Cork City

There are literally hundreds of these wells and springs in the Cork area, probably thousands in the whole of Ireland. They have been visited by humans for thousand of years, probably since before we began building monuments like Newgrange.
We always needed good water to drink so knowing where to find it in the landscape was literally a matter of life and death. is it any wonder then that these places became revered and were held sacred by successive waves of people settling in the area? each one bringing their own beliefs, ideas and customs of which the catholic church is only the latest.
What I like about visiting them and spending time there is the sense I get of connection to the past, that whatever customs are enacted around these places have their roots far far back in history and succeeding beliefs systems such as the church have had to fit that truth into their own. This isn't about religion it's about Life. What I don't like is that all too often, with the advent of convenient, piped, chlorinated, fluoridated water we forget where it really comes from, that left to itself nature has means of purifying and presenting us with the best water to drink and with that forgetting we begin to destroy ourselves and nature's capacity to support us.
In the conflict and struggle of everyday life we ought to remember that and begin to protect and preserve these places again. The powers that be are selling us water already, turning it into a commodity along with so much else, rediscovering these places in our communities and learning to look after them is a way to remedy this and to reconnect ourselves with something that may see us through some of the trouble we have.
That's all for now, with a photo, that if it works will be my first success at getting a photo up on Indymedia!

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Comments (4 of 4)

Holy Wells

by Eileen McGough

Mon Apr 06, 2009 18:32

eileenpmcgough at eircom dot net

Holy Wells often date from pre christian times; they were an important feature for the population, as witnessed in the Folklore collection taken in the 1930's from both school childrena and adults. One legend is that a desecrated well will move to a new location...
there are wells for specific 'cures' -Lepers wells, Those for eyesight, animal- cure wells,etc. Pattern Day was the date designated to visit the well and rituals were observed at the well on pattern day. cheers all,
Eileen

I beg to differ

by John

Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:31

The structure round the well may indeed be mortar but the water was there long before the structure and people were drinking water from wells long before the 19th C. There are references in history books and other documents to holy wells going back a lot further too.

Raffeen

by Jos

Thu Feb 22, 2007 22:56

Raffeen holy well is not "ancient". Its of lime mortar dating to the 19th century. As are most holy wells in Ireland.

Wells spings and stones

by Richie and Vic

Mon Nov 20, 2006 17:07

Nice one John we also take great pleasure in vsiting these sites , whenever we travel to a new area we seek out places that look good on our increasing collection of os maps often using gps to help us locate them . This may not sound very exciting but can be amazingly theraputic .I would however include stones and circles for instance there is a lovely little stone circle very close to the Rossport solidarity camp ,a very peacefull vibe after a morning of confrontation.

solidarity circle

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Wells and springs round Cork

Comments (4 of 4)