Toberinneenboy, Tobar Inion Baoith, Tobar Inghean Baoith, Castletown
Townland: Castletown, Doora
Description of Holy Well and Landscape Setting
This holy well is located at the side of a tertiary road just off the Knockanean Road. It is part of a stream and is mostly obscured by foliage.
Saint and Feast Day Associated with Holy Well
The well is of slightly questionable provenance and has been associated with both Saint Brigid and Saint Inghean Baoith in the past.
In ‘The Cult of Inghin Bhaoith and the Church of Killinaboy’, 2000, Michael McMahon writes:
‘The etymological derivation of the name Inghean Baoith is far from certain. The name is usually translated as “Daughter of Baoith”. It may also have been a word referring to her vocation as groups of holy women or nuns were designated “Ingena” and figured prominently in the early centuries of the church in Ireland.’
Writing as part of the Ordnance Survey, John O’Donovan and Eugene O’Curry record that the feast day associated with this holy well is 29th December. There does not seem to be any current visitations to the well, but a mass is celebrated annually on the site of the medieval church at nearby Castletown Farm. According to records in the Irish Folklore Collection, the well was said to be powerful in treating eye ailments.
Natural Heritage around the Holy Well
The well is part of a stream and is surrounded by the usual roadside foliage.
Heritage Attractions Nearby
Quin Village is to the east of the holy well site and Ennis Town lies to the west.
Additional Information
John O’Donovan, Ordnance Survey Letters, 1839, Doora Parish:
‘Holy Wells dedicated to great Saints as:- (1) St. Michael’s Well in the Townland of Kilbreckan, in which there seems to have been a little Church named after St. Brecan, (2) Tober-na-hinneenaboy in Castletown and (3) Tober-Sennaun in the Townland of Drim.’
National Folklore Collection, Schools’ Collection, 1930s:
‘There is a holy well in Castletown in the Parish of Doora. It is in honour of St. Brigid. Everyone that went there with sore eyes were cured. People used to come from far away places to it. It is said that a man was brought there. He was told to stay there for thirteen nights but on the third night he was cured.’
Discover More…
Ordnance Survey Letters, Royal Irish Academy
Ordnance Survey Letters, Ask About Ireland
National Folklore Collection, Schools’ Collection 1930s
MacMahon, M 2000, ‘The Cult of Inghin Bhaoith and the Church of Killinaboy’, in The Other Clare, Vol. 24,
Record of Monuments and Places Number
RMP-CL034-064
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