What is recorded here

Kilbree holds a dry lintelled well beside a worn bullaun stone and a nearby burial ground, marking an old ritual place where people still remember water and prayer. The small opening at the rock base no longer flows, but the worn stone and surviving alignment suggest repeated visitation, perhaps for healing, blessing or mourning. What is missing is not importance but movement: water, breath and life have withdrawn from the place, leaving behind a quiet shape that once participated in the world.

Holy well according to local information. Lintelled opening (Wth 0.58m; H 0.37m) at base of natural rock outcrop; now dry. Bullaun stone (CO135-006003-) in front of well; burial ground (CO135-006001-) c. 30m to N. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 Images provided by and copyright of Amanda Clarke 2016-2022 https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/

Linked to Saint Bree, a 6th-century Irish saint associated with healing and water cures, the well was traditionally visited for its supposed medicinal properties, particularly for ailments of the eyes and skin. The presence of a bullaun stone suggests ritual or ecclesiastical activity, while the nearby burial ground indicates a long-standing sacred landscape.

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