What is recorded here

Toberabban is a slab-lined holy well in a Cork wood, seventy metres east of St Abban's grave, where a stream still runs east and two drinking cups wait beside the boulders. On March 16th the place becomes a ritual site, drawing people to drink or pray at the water Abban allegedly touched. The wood may have felt less like a landscape and more like a threshold, where the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin enough to drink from.

In wood, c. 70m to E of St Abban's grave (CO058-039002-). Slab-lined well, surrounded by loose boulders, with stream running off to E; two drinking cups beside well. Venerated on St Abban's day (March 16th). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). 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 St Abban, the well is traditionally associated with cures for eye ailments and general healing. Veneration on his feast day includes the use of two drinking cups, possibly reflecting an ancient practice of offering or communal blessing.

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