Holy Wells

Ireland has something in the order of three thousand recorded holy wells, most of them small springs dedicated to a saint, many of them on sites that were almost certainly venerated before Christianity and were absorbed rather than suppressed. The practice at a well is called making the rounds: walking a set number of circuits, usually sunwise, saying prescribed prayers, sometimes leaving a stone on a cairn. Rag trees stand beside many of them - a strip of cloth tied to a branch, traditionally left to rot as the ailment it represents fades, though nylon and plastic left now do not rot and are a real problem for the trees. Each well has a pattern day, the feast of its saint, when people gather; some patterns draw hundreds, most a handful. The Church suppressed many gatherings in the nineteenth century for drinking and disorder. The tradition persists quietly and is not organised for visitors.

The main sights

• The rounds - set circuits walked sunwise with prescribed prayers.
• The rag trees - cloth strips tied to branches beside the water.
• The pattern days - the saint's feast, when people gather at the well.
• The pre-Christian layer - sites venerated before the saints they now carry.

When to go

Pattern days fall through the year but cluster from May to September; the well itself is accessible at any time. Most are on farmland - approach quietly and close gates.

Before you go

These are living devotional sites, not attractions - people are praying and the visit should be treated accordingly. Access is often across private farmland. Do not tie synthetic material to rag trees; it kills the branches.

Nearby

Concentrations in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Donegal; the Duchas archive maps many of them.