What is recorded here

Toberlyan is a holy well in County Cavan where penitence became physical. People walked boulders around the water until a wall replaced them in the 1980s. Six stones still mark that abandoned ritual beside the field boundary. The wall tightened the place, but the boulders preserved its shape: a body moving through water, pain and memory.

Marked on all OS eds. A wall was erected around the well in the early 1980s. Prior to this, it was surrounded by a number of boulders which served as penitential stations. Six of these are viable close to the field boundary, c. 60m to SSW (CV013-063002-). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1995). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 December 2008

Toberlyan Duffin is associated with Saint Fillan, a 7th-century Irish monk and healer, and the well is traditionally believed to have curative properties, particularly for skin ailments and lameness. The surrounding boulders used as penitential stations suggest a long-standing tradition of pilgrimage and ritual observance at the site.

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