National Folklore Collection |
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The story on this page has been taken from the Dúchas web site, page http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5044796/5039213/5083936and pages following. An image of the original manuscript can be viewed on the Dúchas page as well as more detailed information about the informant and recorder of the story. Copyright and licence information appears at the bottom of this page. |
Page 283
In this locality there are a few holy wells. The most known of them is '' Dómnac '' It is situated in the townland of Ballyleenan, Bawnboy, Co. Cavan. It is visited on the last Sunday of July. The custom is to knot rushes, and say prayers
at the well. It is a vey small well, and is at the corner of a field, but there is no bush near it. There is heather and bill-berry bushes growing in the field where the well is. The field is owned by. Mr Dolan, of Ballyleenan, Bawnboy, Co. Cavan.
This well was in the townland of Torrewa, at first. One day a woman washed her clothes in it and the well disappeared that night and went to Ballyleenan.
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There was a big stone beside the well when it was in Torrewa which broke into three parts. One part remained in Torrewa, another part fell slant-wise in the well at Torrewa, and the third fell on Baron's island in Brackley lough.
It seems that the well disappeared from Torrewa, before St. Patricks time, as he rested and baptised children at this well in Ballyleenan. No large crowds go to this well now. In former times the people went in thousands to the well.
The old people went in the morning, the middle-aged people went in the afternoon; and the children came in the evening. There used to be standings of all sorts of fruit at the well.There was a man who lived about a furlong from the well,
who also had standings. Most of the people brought from him, and he lived comfortably
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the rest of the year on the money he made that day. Once there was a big fight and Father Matt. Ferguson, the Parish Priest scattered the people in all directions, and from that day few people come to the well.
The water is not drunk, and is not much good for cures. Water from the well at Brackley lough is said to be a cure for toothache, but when a person is bringing it for a cure, he must not look behind him, for if he does it will not cure at all.
Collector: Mollie Mc Govern
Address: Muineal, Co. Cavan
Informant: Mrs James Mc Govern
Age: 16
Address: Muineal, Co. CavanEnd.
Thanks to Bernadette McGovern who transcribed this and a great many other pages of the The Schools' Collection, from the National Folklore Collection Archives.
Copyright, digital preservation, sensitive material and contact Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Under the Creative Commons Licence you are free to: What does "Attribute this work" mean? |