HHH Chapter 29 More Holy Wells are calling me! https://thetrek.co/wp-login.php?action=logout&_wpnonce=f60cfae61a

Although I haven’t decided where to go AFTER Ireland, there is a lot to distract me here. The holy wells call me! My friend M lives near Dalkey, south of Dublin, and was kind enough to organize an exciting trip in search of a holy well. We start at the small, beautifully designed harbour, built at Dalkey to transport rock from the nearby quarries. A short, windy drive took us to Dalkey Island, just off the coast.

The island with everything.

Dalkey Island is small, half rock and half grassy meadow. Wildlife, history and, of course, its sacred well, filled the island with interest. As we got closer we saw seals resting on the shore or gliding out to sea. They are graceful swimmers and they stuck out their gray heads to look at us, look at them. Overhead, Arctic terns circled and screeched. They nest in rocks and in just a few weeks the newly hatched chicks will leave, alone, for Antarctica, to spend the southern polar summer feeding on krill. This migration amazes me. A bird that fits in the palm of your hand can do a lot! There were several historical sites on the island. A Martello round tower and an artillery battery were built to repel French invaders in the Napoleonic Wars. There was a ruined church, the lower parts of which date back to the 9th century.

Holy well of Saint Begnet.

Saint Begnet was a «white martyr» according to Celtic ecclesiastical history. This means that he was celibate and renounced all family ties to dedicate himself to worship. It is believed that she was a princess from the 7th century. When she was a child, an angel brought her a bracelet, in the shape of a cross, to symbolize her vocation. She later left home with no possessions other than this bracelet, to pursue the life of a nun in Northumberland, England, then a great center of religious life and learning. He returned to Ireland after many voyages and probably founded a settlement on Dalkey Island.

St Begnet’s well is at a low altitude, very close to the shore, where more seals were swimming or resting on the rocks. Fresh water from Ireland’s abundant rainfall seeps into a deep chamber. This well certainly predates Saint Begnet herself and is also called the “pagan well.” Once again I had this sense of connection to the deep past, a thread of birth and death, passing down traditions and beliefs through the centuries. This well would have been a crucial resource for anyone living on the island and is believed to have been good for the scurvy that sailors suffered from. The island has a checkered history. Saint Begnet is believed to have converted and baptized people here, establishing a sacred place. The island was later attacked by Vikings who also used it as a place to hold people they had enslaved. The channel between the island and the mainland is not wide but has deep waters and dangerous currents, which would have turned the island into an effective prison. It must have been terrifying standing there, waiting for the Vikings to take you away from everything you had ever known, only to sell you into slavery somewhere else. The Vikings sold slaves as far away as Russia. The long-horned goats that graze on the island looked at us suspiciously and we motioned to the boatman to take us back to the port. I began to feel much more energetic, ready to find the next hole on dry land.

A new old well

There was a small grassy park near the port, with some ruined walls from a previous set of buildings. A few years ago a local group of volunteers were clearing the park and came across the stone entrance to my second St Begnet well. It was excavated and has a stone-lined access road. The water inside was cold and protected by a new door. People had already adopted the well, holding the door with ropes and pieces of cloth in the traditional way, although until recently its existence was not suspected. Here the focus on the healing powers of the wells is profound.

The city of Dublin surprises!

The next day we went in search of wells in the most unlikely place (at least in my opinion): the very center of Dublin.

Trinity College and St. Patrick’s Well

Crowds of Dubliners, tourists and university students surrounded us as we arrived at the Nassau Street entrance to Trinity College and its magnificent academic buildings. An expert porter assured us that there is a holy well in the rector’s garden. I was also absolutely sure that random members of the public like us were NOT allowed to go there and see it. We were able to look through the railings and see the steps leading to the entrance to the well. The well itself is under the street.

There are two interesting features of this well. First, it began when Saint Patrick struck the ground with his staff, causing a spring to gush out. The idea of ​​springs appearing after hitting the ground dates back to very ancient times and was recorded by the ancient Greeks and Romans in connection with their own religious beliefs. Secondly, it seems that the frogs were brought to Trinity in the early 17th century, for dissection studies, and a professor or students put them in the well and that is how the frogs came to Ireland. This idea has been debunked by genetic research, but I love sharing a good story. Many Irish wells were said to have creatures in them: eels were very common, while fish and frogs were also found. It is very bad luck to interfere with these creatures, as they take their revenge in the form of illness or disability.

A completely modernized well.

We drive further into Dublin to Whitefriar Street Church, a Carmelite monastic church and community centre. I had never met a monk in full Carmelite robes before. One of these resident monks charmingly showed us St. Albert’s Well, in a small side chapel, off the main hall of the Carmelite complex.

Historically, this well was fed by underground springs and canals and was highly revered by the people who lived nearby. In fact, they took bottles of holy water home. Finally, the city authorities, fearing the transmission of infections, placed a stainless steel container in the well and connected it to the clean water supply network. Clearly, by moving from the faucet to the well, you are automatically sanctified. Still, I think St. Albert would probably have approved of this deal. He was a 13th century Dominican monk, a great academic who became a professor of theology, and also studied many natural sciences, as well as music, justice and philosophy. He was given the title of Doctor Expertus or Doctor Universals for the breadth of his knowledge. He studied Aristotle and the scientific writings of the Muslim world. Muslim scholars such as Avicenna and Averros had a very sophisticated understanding of mathematics and medicine, which included ideas about good hygiene. When he was appointed bishop, Saint Albert refused to ride a horse when visiting his great diocese, insisting on retaining a monastic humility and poverty, walking everywhere. Another saint of hiking.

A surprising connection with Wales.

I visited the shrine and well of St Winifrede in Wales, at the beginning of my trip. Our last well in Dublin was also dedicated to her, rather than an Irish saint. This is probably due to its location in Temple Bar. In the past, this area would have been home to Welsh merchants trading in Dublin. Perhaps dedicating the well to Saint Winifrede helped them feel at home.

The well stands proud in the street, now capped and covered, unmarked or unaware of its sacred nature. Revelers in this busy area of ​​the city mainly use it as a handy ashtray when they go out to the nearby pub for a smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful medieval buildings of Holywell in Wales, where I started.

Although I haven’t done any hiking in Ireland, I have done some traveling on foot. I have lost the desire to document these miles and have instead been enjoying the company of my friend and her family. I have visited this part of Ireland on quite a few occasions and finding the holy wells added a whole new dimension to this visit. My friend didn’t know about these wells before and her son is very interested in ancient history, so it was great to share the well hunting with them. Tomorrow I’ll head inland to County Waterford in search of more wells. I hope to also find some answers to my internal questions about what to do next.

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