St Patrick's Well Street

This is slightly off topic, as it's about a different holy well, but I must put in into this blog for one reason: A Google search for Sráid Thobar Pádraig yields NOTHING. I, perhaps a little needlessly, just got my knickers in a bind over this. The back story from a personal point of view:

I read in a book while doing research for my thesis about a St. Patrick's Well that used to exist in the grounds of Trinity College. I went to Trinity and spoke to the head of security about it and got confirmation that it does indeed still exist but is in a private garden. Essentially you have to make an appointment to go see it as you need to be escorted. It took me a number of months but I finally set aside some time to visit the well last December. The head of security, the lovely and helpful Pat Morey, and the head groundskeeper escorted myself and two friends to the well, which is now underground but used to be on street level. That would be Nassau Street. You can see in the brickwork how the street built up around it over the centuries, it's very interesting. It would have been a stopping place for pilgrims and people travelling all those years ago - there's no doubt that Nassau Street was busy even then.

I noticed back in June that the Irish on the street sign over Knobs and Knockers reads Sráid Thobar Pádraig - Saint Patrick's Well Street. The newer street signs simply read Sráid Nassau, but this older one is telling. The street was once called after this now forgotten holy well. I just made an album on Facebook with pictures from all the wells I have visited and was trying to get more info on the street sign to put into a caption. There was nothing. So I created this blog so that the next time someone might Google this place name or holy well, maybe there will be a relevant hit.

Pilgrimage!

On 1 August a small pilgrimage was made to Tobernea by seven people of mixed backgrounds and nationalities. Thanks to the Scouts and the County Council, we were able to obtain permission and insurance for the meeting to take place! There used to be an annual pilgrimage to the site but it has died out in recent decades. My purpose in organizing the pilgrimage was to raise awareness of the well site and celebrate its existence with others who are interested.

We met at the gates to the field a little before 2 pm on the day where we introduced ourselves and handed out information sheets. We spent about a half hour at the well where we sang, drummed, meditated, and discussed the history of the well. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day!

Thank you to all who attended and made the day possible, especially Barry McMullin who opened and closed for us out of the goodness of his heart!

The next step? The journey continues in raising awareness and restoring the well. More to come!

Some Old Articles

I have had a very fortunate couple of weeks. Firstly, two documents appeared in my mailbox from Cllr. Marie Baker. The first is the article on Tobernea by PJ O'Reilly printed in the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. XII, 1902. You may read it for yourself here. The photos are from 1901 and can be seen to the left. See how big the tunnel to the well was!

The second is a pamphlet that Mrs. Murphy sent over. It's from 'The Way to Dundrum' by Kevin Harrington and it talks about St. Nahi. He apparently lived in the monastery in Tallaght for many years and later became a recluse (as those local saints are famous for becoming). In 1976, when Harrington visited the well, its state is described thus:

The brick tunnels have been partly filled in with stones and clay as they run under the house on the cliff top. The entrance to the well itself is partly filled in but if you squeeze in you can still see the holy well still working. There is plenty of water from the spring. I took some photos of the well. I would very much like to see it cleaned up and open to visitors once more.

Well said, Harrington!

When I visited Mrs. Murphy, she told me to call over to Mr. John Cully. I finally did so two days ago, and the visit was fruitful! Mr. Cully is a man of seemingly infinite historical knowledge, and did indeed know a bit about holy wells and Tobernea. He brought me to the embankment to show me where the well's water empties out into the sea. Plenty of water is flowing, it's quite visible. He also tried to paint a mental picture for me of what the coastline where the well is located might have looked like before the railway embankment went in. It would have been all rocky cliffs, thus Tobernea truly was a seashore well for most of its existence.

I have since spoken to a friend of Mr. Cully's, Conan Kennedy, who is a writer with similar interests. He gave me some advice on getting the word out to the public, and he's going to send me some of his work.

Mr. Cully also put me in touch with the editor of the Blackrock Journal. More to follow.

Another interesting tidbit came from Hugh McLain of the Blackrock Scouts in an email. His brother in law said that 'the well was the end of an escape tunnel from the monestary on Tmple Hill that the Monks would use when the Monestary was being plundered. They always kept a boat at the well apparently.' This well just gets more and more interesting!

It's amazing how much information is out there. It was just a question of asking the right people.

Thanks to John Cully, Conan Kennedy, Mrs. Murphy, Cllr. Marie Baker, and Hugh McLain!

Some Old Photos

Courtesy of Cllr. Marie Baker:
The date on the file of the first one is 1984. See how there's a path leading to the well? That's sort of how I envisioned it. It would be nice to have that again.

Look closely at the second one: there is a person sitting in the well! And look at how built up it is! Very nice stone arch. I read somewhere that there was a cross hanging over the well in recent years, and I couldn't see how that worked until I saw this picture.

It's amazing how much the grounds have changed in just two and a half decades.

The Book of Blackrock

Ask and ye shall receive! After my last post I got an email from my friend Denis who said he just saw the book I mentioned on our mutual friend's bookshelf. I emailed her and today have the book in my hands: The Book of Blackrock by Liam Mac Cóil (Carraig Books Ltd, 1977). It would seem that the well got quite junked up after the railway embankment went in. At one time it was so full of rubbish that only a bit of water was trickling out. Either someone cleaned it out between then and now or it cleared itself, because the water sounded very busy down there on Wednesday! On page 15 of the 1981 edition, Mac Cóil quotes his grandmother remembering Tobernea:

Ah, I was very small at the time. My poor father used to bring us down. He hadn't what you'd call very strong eyes. And he'd bring a clean cloth and he'd bathe his eyes in the well; and bring a bit of rag, whatever meaning was in the rag I don't know, but the tree was full of rags, red rags and all classes and colours.

The rags tied to the tree are called clooties and are still common at well sites. Most holy wells have a sacred tree nearby to which pilgrims attach clooties to leave behind an ailment that has been washed with the cloth, or perhaps to remind the local spirit or saint of their prayers. I didn't take notice of a tree near the well on Wednesday but will look closer next time I visit.

Mac Cóil says that the well was a popular place of pilgrimage by people both in and out of town. A pamphlet from the early 18th century written by an unnamed writer talks about 'A Trip to the Black-Rock', when he visited a 'sorry Drinking Hovel' and describes what sounds like rounds performed at a well. The person who brought him to the well talked about someone who regained eyesight 'by the Sanctity of St. Black-rock.'

He also talks about the etymology of 'Tobernea', which seems to be quite up in the air. He agrees that it is likely named for St. Nathy. PJ O'Reilly is quoted in the book and identifies the nea with the New in Newtown (the nearby avenue, a place-name found in Blackrock), and then with someone named Noe or Nathi. Myles Ronan said that in earlier times the area was occupied by a people called the 'Muintir Nathi', which might also lend the nea to 'Tobernea'. Mac Cóil's own conclusion is that nea is an unknown Irish word.

I will add that this book contains the first map I have seen with Tobernea on it, including the modern OS map I borrowed. He also gives pretty detailed directions on how to find the well. What a thrill! If only I had come across this book a year ago.

Thanks to Nastaise Leddy and Denis McArdle!

My First Visit

Today at lunchtime, Cllr. Marie Baker was kind enough to escort me to the well. Not only that, but the day before she had a pathway cut through the growth around it so we could get up there without being stung by nettles. Aces! The well is located in the side of a slope which, according to some reading I've done, was once a sea cliff. It is now on the most inland part of the Scouts field, and almost directly under the private garden of Mrs. Murphy above. It is covered over by some wire and metal beams, but you can see down into it, and judging by the sound of the water, the spring is very much alive! Safety is indeed an issue. It is estimated to drop down about six feet, which is scary when children are running around. Cllr. Baker said that there has been talk of restoring it a bit - getting a pathway put in and putting a proper cover on it. I think that the cover is necessary for safety, but I would like to see it done so that there is still a way to access the water.

It was thought to have a cure for sore eyes, as many holy wells were thought to have. Many wells are called Tobar na Súil, or Well of the Eye, because of that. We called up to Mrs. Murphy because she was thought to have a pamphlet or something about the well. She said that the name Tobernea meant 'Washing Well', which phonetically makes sense as the Irish word for 'wash' is 'nigh'. I still believe more that it is named for St. Nathy, but it's an interesting alternative to the meaning. She also said there's a book on Blackrock in the library which has information on the well. However, the library is in a temporary place at the moment and all resources might not be available. I am going to try anyway.

I expressed interest in reviving the pilgrimage to the well. Mrs. Murphy remembered one happening in the past, where a priest would lead the ritual and hymns would be sung. My own interest would be simply to have a spiritual gathering of meditation and celebration that's open to everyone. The site would need to be cleaned up a bit and made absolutely safe first. I'm hoping something can be done for August 1st, but we shall see.

It is so amazing to me that this well is in existence, and is as clean as it seems to be. From the sound of the water, it doesn't seem to be very blocked up. It is so deep. Mrs. Murphy said her late husband went down there once to collect water for someone, but said he wouldn't do it again because of the depth. I look forward to a day when I might climb down there myself.

My Search for Tobernea

First, the etymology of the word. 'Tobar', 'tubber', 'dubber', and 'tober' are Anglicizations of the Irish word for 'well'. 'Nea' has been thought by many to refer to St. Nathy, who is a saint local to Sligo, Roscommon, and Dublin. Taney Parish, Dundrum is thought to be named for him. (More info on Taney Parish and St. Nathy here.) So 'Tobernea' is St. Nathy's Well.

I already had an interest in holy wells by the time I came to Ireland to visit UCD last June, 2008. I had visited a number of them around the country on various trips over the years and found them to be dynamic, peaceful, and thought-provoking places of prayer and inner power. In preparation for the two weeks I would be staying in Ireland I printed out a list of holy wells from this website and brought it with me, thinking finding them would be as easy as rolling into a town and asking where the nearest holy well was! To my delight, there was a well listed in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, where I would be studying the coming year. I was visiting the campus on this trip so thought to enquire about it when I arrived in Blackrock.

No one knew anything. The professor I visited, an elderly woman at the local church, a bar full of pub goers - no one - though everyone I asked was very interested in the idea, and that a Yank was going around asking about a holy well! I finally asked an elderly gent who I met in a park called - you guessed it - Tobernea Park on Newtown Avenue. He didn't know about the well, but brought me to Tobernea Terrace, which is a small street and cul-de-sac with a view of the sea. We crept down into the Scouts Field, which was open, and poked around. Nothing. I asked the person who was locking up. Nothing. I poked around the neighborhood a little. Nothing. It was time for lunch and a pint, so I headed back to the village and went into Jack O'Rourke's.

In O'Rourke's I met Paddy, the bartender/manager with whom in the past year I've struck up a lovely friendship. Paddy and some locals sitting at the bar listened as I asked about the well. No one knew anything but Paddy kept enquiring after I left. When I returned in September 2008 to start my studies, I went back to O'Rourke's to hear that someone had a lead. I was given the address 4 Tobernea Terrace to call over to. Someone thought the well was built over by this house. I was starting to give up.

In December I had an essay due which was laying the groundwork for my thesis. As part of my research I read Patrick Logan's The Holy Wells of Ireland, in which he wrote

Near Blackrock at Newtown, Tobernea was also a seashore well. This was a strong trickle of water which flowed down the face of a rock. It was close to the sea until the railway embankment was built there.

I took all the past tense and talk of the railway to mean it had been destroyed. At this point I was so immersed in my master's work that I only had the well in the back of my mind. I had given up.

Currently in the process of finishing a draft of my thesis, which is about holy wells in Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, I automatically have my ears piqued for any mention of wells. I'm quite obsessed with them. I have often wished there was one nearby to visit when I need some mental quieting. I think of Tobernea and how nice that would be.

On 6 June I attended a quiz at the Cup and Coin in the Blackrock market. A lady on my team, Pat, was like minded, and mentioned that there used to be a well on Tobernea Terrace. My attention immediately snapped to. She said she knew intuitively that it was still there, that it must be blocked up because there's some wonky energy in that area. I was back on it.

I did yet another Google search, this time including the Scouts as Pat felt certain it's in their field. This search yielded one positive result- it linked me to the county council and a concern which had been raised in 2006 about the well on the Scout's property. I was in business. I emailed Councellor Marie Baker and the main contact for the Scouts. I had positive responses within a day: Tobernea still exists! Not only that, but people have been coming out of the woodwork since then who want to help me in various ways. I have three contacts at the Scouts now, one of whom was a random one - the first cousin of a dear friend who lives in Kerry. It's amazing how questions get answered when the time is right.

The information I've gathered so far says that there was a pilgrimage to Tobernea up until about 10 years ago. The well is kept hidden because they don't want the Scouts going near it for safety reasons, which I completely understand. One of my concerns when learning it was in the field was for safety for young people, and also fear that younger people who are raised without the traditional awareness of holy wells might mistreat the site. I saw a well in Kerry in the middle of a housing estate completely filled with trash. It was so sad.

My goal is to visit this well, which is happening in under an hour from now when Cllr. Marie Baker is accompanying me to the site (!!), see what state it's in, and communicate with the Scouts about having it maintained in some way. St. Nathy's feast day is August 9, and Lughnasa is August 1, I think arranging a pilgrimage for this year is possible. I want to raise awareness of these holy wells, and for the people in the area to know it exists. The fact that I asked so many people who live in Blackrock this year about it and no one had heard of it is ridiculous. If it's not someone's cup of tea, I understand, but I believe all should at least have the knowledge of its existence.

So here's to the search for Tobernea! If anyone is interested in helping or attending a pilgrimage, please be in touch. I reaffirm - I have no intention of doing anything to the grounds or arranging any meetings without the permission of the Blackrock Scouts. The well is on private property and I ask anyone who reads this and is interested to remember that. I will eventually be able to publish contact information for those in charge, but again, I want to do this with permission.

Thanks to David Quin for the photo and information!