What is recorded here

Tobernawahnee is a small holy well where water still flows into a rock depression on the north-facing slopes of Knockeirka. It appeared on the 1846 Ordnance Survey map, proving that people recognised the place as sacred before modern instruments ever measured it. The well is little more than a shallow irregular hollow, yet that smallness makes it striking: a narrow fissure in the rock gives up enough water to keep a name alive in heather and rain. Perhaps travellers drank there, or left offerings, or simply believed the mountain was speaking through the seam.

In rough heather-covered grazing land, on the N-facing slopes of Knockeirka. A holy well, named 'Tobernawahnee' is indicated here on the 1846 OS 6-inch map. The well consists of an irregularly shaped natural depression (L 0.8m; Wth 0.6m; D 0.4m) in outcropping rock. Water flows into the depression from a spring at the base of a vertical fissure in the N face of the outcropping rock. There is a hut site (KE102-006001-) c. 50m to the E. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Kerry. Volume I: South-West Kerry' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 May 2011

Tobernawahnee is associated with Saint Nahi, a lesser-known early Irish saint, and was traditionally visited for its supposed healing properties, particularly for skin ailments. The name "Tober-na-h-Nahi" translates as "the well of Saint Nahi," reflecting a local Christian tradition that may have incorporated earlier pagan water worship practices.

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