Our Journey: Restoring the Holy Well at Ballinacoola
WWETB Women’s Group, Bunclody
Facilitated and Compiled by unty Council in partnership with Artlinks)
Sally Murphy, Helen Flanagan, Michael Murphy
This book was made to document our journey restoring the Holy Well at Ballinacoola. The Well will be blessed on the 14th of August 2022 by Bishop
Introduction
This book was made to document our journey restoring the Holy Well at Ballinacoola. The idea of restoring this Holy Well came about from the WWETB Women’s Group in Bunclody. The group is made up of twenty-four inspirational women from age sixteen upwards. The group has been facilitated by Sally Murphy and Ceiline Cash for the past four years and has grown enormously.
Community education is the aim of this group.
This wonderful group of women has grown in confidence, gained knowledge and skills throughout the past four years. It is very evident that these women have flourished and have been empowered to create change. It’s truly amazing as facilitators to watch this group grow from a seed, to a beautiful flower.
We received funding from SETU to restore the Holy Well at Ballinacoola. We were supported by WWETB and SETU throughout the project. We chose this Well because it’s closest to Bunclody and has been in a tradition in our families for years. Religion is a huge part of our group and is very much respected by all involved.
The Well will be blessed on the 14th of August 2022 by Bishop Ger Nash.
We started restoring this well in April 2022. All in all, it took five months of tireless work from men, women and children, young and old.
We are so proud of the people involved in helping us restore this Well back to its former glory.
This journey has been inspirational for everyone involved in restoring the Well and donating, their time, skills and materials, to make it possible. This has been a memorable summer that will live on. This project took a lot of dedication and we always hoped for good weather.
We are so happy that Bishop Ger Nash will bless this Well on the 14th of August 2022 and hopefully his attendance will bring more people back to this wonderful little place that is close to our hearts.
We are so happy to have the opportunity to make a difference to this Well.
The feedback from the landowners and locals has been immense and we have a sense of pride in the group we facilitate and also in the volunteers, and it has been a privilege to come back and restore this place that has been important to families for generations.
The Holy Well at Ballinacoola is in the parish of Ballindaggin, about four miles from Bunclody. The Well is accessed down a long lane from the main road. The lane is bordered by a hedge full of honeysuckle, foxglove and wild rose.
We loved listening to the different stories and chatting to the different people we met during the restoration of the Well. We started as a group but
now we are a team. We enjoyed each other’s company, we appreciated each other’s ideas and choices, and the cups of tea we had together. Everyone was on the same page and wanted the Well to look as beautiful as we all imagined.
About half way down the path narrows into a small lane with granite and quartz stone walls. In the spring the walls are full of primrose and wild strawberries in the summer.
We are so thankful for the support that we received from everyone involved and also SETU, WWETB, the Landowners and Helen Flanagan for joining us e journey and helping us create this book, to Anne Farrell for the valuable information on the Well,
to all the women in the group who made it possible and to the staff at Mount Mellory for showing us a lovely day.
“I remember years ago I went with Nanny. The lane was full of strawberries, the hedges were full of strawberries. They were tiny ones and big ones.”
It’s not recorded on any maps, except for a mention on 1888 OSI map, it’s not a protected monument and there’s not much written about it. You’d never know the Well was there except for an old sign by the road that reads, “The Blessed Well.”
“I see a lot of rose petals here. These women could be roses, they will all grow into roses.”
“There is a blessed well Ballincoola in the Parish of Ballindaggin. It is on the lands of the late James MacEvoy. This well was blessed by MacEvoy’s cousin who was an American priest, Fr. O Neill The Well is about a half a mile from the public road and it is situated in the corner of the Ban Field. This built up and above the surface of the water is a shelf on which there are beads, prayerbooks and a crucifix. There is also a statue of the Blessed Virgin on the shelf. People at the present time come to this Well and drink the water. The water is supposed to cure all diseases and sickness. A boy named O Neill who lived in Rossard in the locality was cured at this Well. He was a cripple and carried crutches. One of the crutches is still near the well.” - Teresa Hughes, Bolabeg 1933
The Well is accessed over a bridge over a stream and through a gate. To the right of the gate there’s a large, flat piece of stone resting on a built-up mound of stones, it looks not unlike an altar or a mass rock.
Thanks to
Not many people know about the Well, but, for those that do it is a special place of healing and peace.
Memories
“It gets us out and about, it gets us telling stories, it’s good for mental health ”
“I look forward to it. I am delighted to go to it. I think it’s very good that you can get together every week. It’s a safe space. It’s why we’re dedicated to the group.”
“I remember years ago my sister-in-law told me about the Well. She said it’s very peaceful. When I went, I met an old man down there, he told me about when he was going to get a triple bypass and he came to the Well. He put his faith in our lady and he never looked back. He had faith in the Well.”
“I used to go a good bit as a child. I feel calm when I go there, I feel peaceful.”
“I find the time just flies. The time is endless down there. You say you’re going down there for an hour and it disappears.”
“When you go there you forget your stresses.”
“There are four pregnant women in this group. Four babies have been born since we started this project – two boys and two girls. We hope they will turn to education, that they’ll keep the faith going, that they’ll be inspired by their mothers to be good people and look after the Well.”
“I found when I got there the peace. If you had anything on your mind when you went there, it would be gone. The feeling was lovely. I enjoyed every bit of it when I was a child. You always felt Our Lady was there.”
“People are frightened these days. Our Lady is the best thing you can turn to. Our Lady is beautiful.”
“I was delighted to work with the women’s group to put together this book, and to help them make the paper for the cover. Sally and Celine are two inspirational women They have been great mentors to me and I’ve learned so much from them and I’m thankful they invited me to come on this journey with them.”
“We used to go down there as children to get stones and we would compare our stones. We used to get rushes to get our granny to make St. Brigit’s crosses and baby rattlers. You put the little stones in the rattlers.”
Religion
“We had the opportunity from Helen to make paper for the very first time in our lives. We used recycled paper from WWETB and water from the well at Mount Mellory to make this paper.”
“This paper is very special to us as it signifies a huge part of our culture and includes Catholic religion which is very near to our hearts. Everyone helped out each other, there was a lot of teamwork involved and I feel like this will be a lifelong memory for everyone involved.”
Each person has added their own medals, crosses. For each person their paper is like a relic, it’ll be cherished in their homes for the rest of their lives.”
“When it comes to this group, religion is important.”
“My son was three or four months old at the time. I remember the crowds; it was around August. My son was born in April. Going down, everyone would be sitting around on the grass. It was very quiet, peaceful. Even though there was loads of people it was peaceful. When we came back to live here, we’d only visit every now again, but now since COVID we’ve been coming back.”
“This is community education.”
“Me growing up as a child I was always nervous at it, because of the bulls in the field.”
“Community education creates change. It meets people where they are at. It social. If you have a curriculum like school and you have disadvantaged backgrounds, oppressed groups they won’t have the same access. It meets people where they are at, if you have that you have it all. We understood that education can still be brought through talking, through cooking, through having fun. Community education is the most powerful way of changing society.”
“We couldn’t wait to get up to the well. You’d go to the river, and pick up a stone. I’d imagine every stone I’d pick up was the Virgin Mary.”
“We went on the trip to Mount Mellory on the 23rd of April. It was an opportunity to go there. It was a day of retreat. We went out to buy the statues and we got the Well water to make the paper (for this book) there.”
“Since COVID people have started going back to Holy Wells. That’s what Our Lady wants. To bring people back to this Well.”
“We found peace there. That’s what people go to Mount Mellory for, to find peace.”
“We knew that Our Lady wanted us to restore the Well. It was like a calling. We knocked on doors and went around the community, up and down lanes and then we finally found the landowners and got permission to go ahead. They were both happy that we were restoring the Well and bringing it back to its former glory.”
Our Group
Restoring the Well
“For the youngest in the group, five and ten. They helped out. They raked, they painted, they really helped, they were very good.”
“Looking back on it now, we didn’t funnel it down. We thought we were going to buy two statues and do a bit of painting. We were shocked when we saw the amount of work that needed to be done just to get access to the Well. We needed to clear half a mile of overgrowth before we even go to the Well.”
“You’re not going to do this on your own, as women. You’d need some help”
“Good hearted people who supported the project donated flowers, materials, benches. A lot of our furniture is recycled from old wood and looks so beautiful now.”
“Where there’s a Well, there’s a way.”
We didn’t think it would be so hard. It’s a learning going forward in life, you have to think around an issue. We didn’t think it was going to be so difficult. We’re glad we did this.”
“People learned and found skills they never knew they had”
“People learned and found skills they never knew they had” determined. We
“We were determined. We kept going.”
“We would have never done it with the help of the men. We would never have had the skills or the strength. Without the men, they volunteered, they cut themselves, they bruised themselves, they did it on the hottest days of the summer. Everyone was happy. They never gave up.”
“We would have never done it with the help of the men. We would never have had the skills or the strength. Without the men, they volunteered, they cut themselves, they bruised themselves, they did it on the hottest days of the summer. Everyone was happy. They never gave up.”
“Looking back on it now, we didn’t funnel it down. We thought we were going to buy two statues and do a bit of painting. We were shocked when we saw the amount of work that needed to be done just to get access to the Well. We needed to clear half a mile of overgrowth before we even go to the Well.”
“For the youngest in the group, five and ten. They helped out. They raked, they painted, they really helped, they were very good.”
“You’re not going to do this on your own, as women. You’d need some help”
“Good hearted people who supported the project donated flowers, materials, benches. A lot of our furniture is recycled from old wood and looks so beautiful now.”
Where there’s a there’s a way.”
“We didn’t think it would be so hard. It’s a learning going forward in life, you have to think around an issue. We didn’t think it was going to be so difficult. We’re glad we did this.”
“We went on the trip to Mount Mellory on the 23rd of April. It was an opportunity to go there. It was a day of retreat. We went out to buy the statues and we got the Well water to make the paper (for this book) there.”
“Since COVID people have started going back to Holy Wells. That’s what Our L bring people back to this W
“We found peace there. That’s what people go to Mount Mellory for, to find peace.”
“We knew that like a calling. community, up and down lanes and then we finally found the landowners and got permission to go ahead. They were both happy that we were restoring the
Our Group
Restoring the Well
Religion
“We had the opportunity from Helen to make paper for the very first time in our lives. We used recycled paper from WWETB and water from the well at Mount Mellory to make this paper.”
“This paper is very special to us as it signifies a huge part of our culture and includes Catholic religion which is very near to our hearts. Everyone helped out each other, there was a lot of teamwork involved and I feel like this will be a lifelong memory for everyone involved.”
“Each person’s paper is individualised. Each person has added their own medals, crosses. For each person their paper is like a relic, it’ll be cherished in their homes for the rest of their lives.”
“When it comes to this group, religion is important.”
“This is community education.”
“My son was three or four months old at the time. I remember the crowds; it was around August. My son was born in April. Going down, everyone would be sitting around on the grass. It was very quiet, peaceful. Even though there was loads of people it was peaceful. When we came back to live here, we’d only visit every now again, but now since COVID we’ve been coming back.”
“Community education creates change. It meets people where they are at. It social. If you have a curriculum like school and you have disadvantaged backgrounds, oppressed groups they won’t have the same access. It meets people where they are at, if you have that you have it all. We understood that education can still be brought through talking, through cooking, through having fun. Community education is the most powerful way of changing society.”
“Me growing up as a child I was always nervous at it, because of the bulls in the field.”
“We couldn’t wait to get up to the well. You’d go to the river, and pick up a stone. I’d imagine every stone I’d pick up was the Virgin Mary.”
“We used to go down there as children to get stones and we would compare our stones. We used to get rushes to get our granny to make St. Brigit’s crosses and baby rattlers. You put the little stones in the rattlers.”
“I was delighted to work with the women’s group to put together this book, and to help them make the paper for the cover. Sally and Celine are two inspirational women They have been great mentors to me and I’ve learned so much from them and I’m thankful they invited me to come on this journey with them.”
“We did it because we went back to college. We could see how society was structured that there were issues. We studied sociology and the more we became empowered the more we wanted the other women to be empowered.”
“It gets us out and about, it gets us telling stories, it’s good for mental health ”
“I look forward to it. I am delighted to go to it. I think it’s very good that you can get together every week. It’s a safe space. It’s why we’re dedicated to the group.”
“I remember years ago my sister-in-law told me about the Well. She said it’s very peaceful. When I went, I met an old man down there, he told me about when he was going to get a triple bypass and he came to the Well. He put his faith in our lady and he never looked back. He had faith in the Well.”
“I used to go a good bit as a child. I feel calm when I go there, I feel peaceful.”
“I find the time just flies. The time is endless down there. You say you’re going down there for an hour and it disappears.”
“There are four pregnant women in this group. Four babies have been born since we started this project – two boys and two girls. We hope they will turn to education, that they’ll keep the faith going, that they’ll be inspired by their mothers to be good people and look after the Well.”
“When you go there you forget your stresses.”
“I found when I got there the peace. If you had anything on your mind when you went there, it would be gone. The feeling was lovely. I enjoyed every bit of it when I was a child. You always felt Our Lady was there.”
“People are frightened these days. Our Lady is the best thing you can turn to. Our Lady is beautiful.”
It’s not recorded on any maps, except for a mention on 1888 OSI map, it’s not a protected monument and there’s not much written about it. You’d never know the Well was there except for an old that reads,
in the corner of the Ban Field. This built up and above the surface of the water is a shelf on which there are beads, prayerbooks and a crucifix. There is also a statue of the Blessed Virgin on the shelf. People at the present time come to this Well and drink the water. The water is supposed to cure all diseases and sickness. A boy named O Neill who lived in Rossard in the locality was cured at this Well. He was a cripple and carried crutches. One of the crutches is still near the well.” - Teresa Hughes, Bolabeg 1933
“I see a lot of rose petals here. These women could be roses, they will all grow into roses.”
The Well is accessed over a bridge over a stream and through a gate. To the right of the gate there’s a large, flat piece of stone resting on a built-up mound of stones, it looks not unlike an altar or a mass rock.
Thanks to
Not many people know about the Well, but, for those that do it is a special place of healing and peace.
We started restoring this well in April 2022. All in all, it took five months of tireless work from men, women and children, young and old.
We are so proud of the people involved in helping us restore this Well back to its former glory.
This journey has been inspirational for everyone involved in restoring the Well and donating, their time, skills and materials, to make it possible. This has been a memorable summer that will live on. This project took a lot of dedication and we always hoped for good weather.
We are so happy that Bishop Ger Nash will bless this Well on the 14th of August 2022 and hopefully his attendance will bring more people back to this wonderful little place that is close to our hearts.
We are so happy to have the opportunity to make a difference to this Well.
The feedback from the landowners and locals has been immense and we have a sense of pride in the group we facilitate and also in the volunteers, and it has been a privilege to come back and restore this place that has been important to families for generations.
We loved listening to the different stories and chatting to the different people we met during the restoration of the Well. We started as a group but
now we are a team. We enjoyed each other’s company, we appreciated each other’s ideas and choices, and the cups of tea we had together. Everyone was on the same page and wanted the Well to look as beautiful as we all imagined.
We are so thankful for the support that we received from everyone involved and also SETU, WWETB, the Landowners and Helen Flanagan for joining us on the journey and helping us create this book, to Anne Farrell for the valuable information on the Well, to all the women in the group who made it possible and to the staff at Mount Mellory for showing us a lovely day.
About half way down the path narrows into a small lane with granite and quartz stone walls. In the spring the walls are full of primrose and wild strawberries in the summer.
“I remember years ago I went with Nanny. The lane was full of strawberries, the hedges were full of strawberries. They were tiny ones and big ones.”