What is recorded here

Tobergallankillave is a holy well beside a Galway island quay, misnamed by surveyors who transcribed Tobar Cholmcille through a feverish islander. The genuine name belongs to Colmcille, while the garbled version still appears on official maps. A smooth cylindrical pothole, half a metre deep and wide, holds rainwater and tide-wash beneath the deck. People may have drunk from it, washed wounds in it, or simply watched it swallow light; the well keeps that much to itself.

Below HWM c. 10m N of a quay on E shore of the island, and c. 100m SE of its position as marked on OS 6-inch maps. Known locally as Tobar Cholmcille, the garbled OS version presumably having been 'taken...down from an islander with a bad cold' (Robinson 1985, 26-7). It consists of a natural smooth and deep (0.6m) cylindrical pothole (D 0.6m). 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 St. Columba (Colmcille), the well is associated with early Christian pilgrimage and healing traditions. Local folklore suggests it was a site of spiritual significance, possibly used for baptism or as a place of prayer and penance.

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