Saint Corcoran's Well, Kilcorcoran
Townland: Kilcorcoran – Church of Corcráin, Kilfarboy
Description of Holy Well and Landscape Setting
Kilcorcoran Holy Well lies beside a disused graveyard, possibly a cillín. There is a large circular ditch or henge-like feature visible in satellite photos of the site which is not referenced in maps of the area.
Saint and Feast Day Associated with Holy Well
Both the name of the townland and the well are very deliberately given as ‘Corcoran’.
The Ó Corcráins were an historic Fermanagh family whose members had high level positions in the medieval church. When they were displaced during the Ulster Plantation, many Ó Corcráins moved to Munster. Saint Corcoran’s name was still being mentioned in historical sources in the 15th century.
Natural Heritage around the Holy Well
The well is located in a field with animals.
Heritage Attractions Nearby
Milltown Malbay, famed for its huge traditional music heritage and home to the annual international Willie Clancy Summer School, is five minutes from the holy well site. A little further west is the Atlantic coast and its beaches.
Additional Information
In the ‘Poems of St Senan’, poem 3, stanza 9, Senan refers to ‘mo chair e, mo chorcrána’, which seems to be a reference to his friend Corcráin. There is a further reference to Maol Chorghais as one of the sons (disciples) of Fionnmhaith inghen Bháedh.
Donal De Barra, Ecclesiastical Townland Names of West Clare, 2018 Donal De Barra, Ecclesiastical Townland Names of West Clare, 2018
Discover More…
De Barra, D 2018, Ecclesiastical Townland Names of West Clare
Click here to view
Record of Monuments and Places Number
RMP-CL031-015
No Comments
Add a comment about this page