Discover Alone, back to main map

Toberreendoney

Holy well

What do you know about this place?

What you write will be public.

What is recorded here

This well is marked on the 1840-41 and 1915 OS maps as 'Toberreendoney' (Tobar Rí an Domhnaigh - well of the king of Sunday). Situation and Description: This was originally a small well at the side of the road which leads down to 'Ladies strand', Ballybunnion. However, all that remains today is a trickle of water; the County Council closed up the well about 25 years ago. Rounds/Legends/Offerings: (a) A trout lives in it. (b) The well moved from the other side of the road when clothes were washed in it. Folklore collected from Ballybunnion School recorded the following tradition abut Sunday's Well: 'Situated in Doon West in Doon Glenn on bottom of cliff about one hundred yards from the shore. This well is supposed to have been profaned on a Saturday night. It is supposed that about one hundred years ago a woman washed clothes in the holy well and that on the following Sunday morning the well was at the opposite side of the road or pathway hence the name Sunday's Well. No rounds are paid since then. The rounds were paid around the well as it is now situated. If the story of the well moving is right rounds were paid in front of the well not round it though as circle the original well a slightly longer but almost identical journey should be made. The well is now used for domestic purposes. The water of this well is always almost ice cold. There is no bush of any description near this well. It is said there is a small trout in this well' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0401, Page 002;https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666574/4663206). Ó Danachair (1958, 160) recorded the following details about this well; 'A small well at the side of the road which leads down to the "Ladies' Strand", Ballybunion. Not visited now but known to have been a holy well formerly. Legends: A holy trout lives in the well. The well moved from the other side of the road when clothes were washed in it'. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 888. Revised by: Caimin O’Brien Date of revised upload: 17 May 2022
This well is marked on the 1840-41 and 1915 OS maps as 'Toberreendoney' (Tobar Rí an Domhnaigh - well of the king of Sunday). Situation and Description: This was originally a small well at the side of the road which leads down to 'Ladies strand', Ballybunnion. However, all that remains today is a trickle of water; the County Council closed up the well about 25 years ago. Rounds/Legends/Offerings: (a) A trout…

From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record KE004-021

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

What survives
Recorded monument

Places near here

Photo credits
  • Zairon, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
  • Grainne Toomey, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
  • Matthew Hatton, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • dennis white, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

More archaeology and monuments in County Kerry · All of County Kerry

Add to this placeAdd a picture Add a detailed tip Add a story

Explore the map1,118,478 places to discover