Holy well in Leitreach Ard — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

No one knows when the first prayer entered that water, but the round hollow still holds its shape beneath a flat stone lid. People walk up the small hill overlooking Cuan na Beirtrí Buí, lift the stone, and leave offerings around Tobar Muire as if Mother herself were listening from the rock. The wooden cross on its cairn stands only three metres west, yet the whole place feels older than the cross, as though faith simply moved into a hole the earth had already made.

On a small hill overlooking Cuan na Beirtrí Buí. Known locally as Tobar Muire, it consists of a natural round hollow (D 0.13m) in a sloping rock outcrop. A flat round stone is used as a lid and modern offerings are visible around it. There is a small cairn (H 0.8m), surmounted by a wooden cross, on a rock 3m to W, and another cairn (H 0.8m) 12m to E. (Robinson 1985, 45) 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 Mary (Muire), the well is traditionally associated with healing and protection, with modern visitors leaving offerings such as coins and ribbons. The site reflects a continuity of devotion from early Christian practices to present-day folk traditions.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.