Tober Mweelin

Just N of a graveyard (GA023-023002-) and within Connemara National Park. This well, correctly Tobar MaOilean, consists of a natural spring, now enclosed within a small rectangular 19th-C well-house (L 1.9m, Wth 1.6m, H 0.9m) of red brick, with a gabled roof of large slabs and a doorway in W wall. It was built to supply water to Kylemore Castle (pers. comm. T. Robinson). Reputedly associated with a St Maol or Maol Roc (Tully Cross I.C.A. 1985, 9): however, a maoilean is a ridge or rounded summit, so this may be a recent invention (pers. comm. T. Robinson). 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

Tober Mweelin is associated with St. Maodhoin (MaOilean), a lesser-known early Irish saint, and was traditionally visited for its supposed healing properties, particularly for skin ailments and general well-being. The well’s location near a graveyard suggests it may have been used in local burial or commemorative rituals.