Holy well in Cill Chiaráin

On a stony hillside overlooking Cuan Cill Chiaráin to E. Known locally as Tobar Muire, it consists of a small irregular hollow in a rock outcrop, with a drystone canopy (H 1.1m) on W side. A few metres NE is a rectangular patch (E-W c. 2m) of small boulders, possibly the remains of a 'leaba'. To N is a granite boulder (H 0.8m) which is said to have reappeared there after being thrown into the sea. (Robinson 1985, 55) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Linked to Saint Ciarán, the well is associated with healing and pilgrimage traditions, particularly for eye ailments, reflecting a common motif in early Irish Christian sites where holy wells were believed to possess curative properties. The name "Tobar Muire" (Well of Mary) suggests a later Marian devotion, possibly overlaying an earlier Celtic or saintly tradition.