HOLY WELLS OF DONEGAL: A Strange Phenomenon

Saint Colmcille

Today, the 9th of June, is the feast of Donegal’s saint, Colmcille (aka Columba) who was born near Gartan in County Donegal in 521 AD.

Naturally there are quite a few Holy Wells in County Donegal dedicated to him, nearly two dozen in fact.

In my continuing quest to photograph as many of Donegal’s Holy Wells as possible, I visited a very interesting Holy Well on the Inishowen peninsula of Donegal which is dedicated to him.

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The narrow concrete bridge on way to the Well

Finding it, as has been the case with many Holy Wells, is a little difficult but asking locally ensured my husband and I had excellent directions making finding it then simple.
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The approach to it however is not so simple.  It is on the shoreline below Binnion Hill and after you cross a thin concrete bridge, the ground becomes very uneven as it has been eaten away by the ebbing and flowing of the tide which has cut a channel alongside it.

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St. Colmcille's Holy Well, Tullagh Strand, Binnion

After walking for al short while we rounded a bend and from there could see the metal cross on the shoreline which sits beside the Well.

The Well itself is a spring, fed from below, and surrounded by stones.  The setting is very pretty but we were warned to take care as the stones can be very slippery.  Which makes sense given they are covered by the sea twice a day and have sea plants stuck to them.  The sludge-like sand around the Well is thick and a bit boggy in places too.

The Well, like almost two dozen in County Donegal, is dedicated to Saint Colmcille and is said to have various cures.  A local man there told us the story of his then girlfriend, now wife.  He said that as a young couple they didn’t have much faith in cures at Holy Wells but she wanted to get rid of a wart on one of her fingers so he took her to this Holy Well and she dipped her finger in the water.  A month or so later she showed him her finger where the wart had once been showing it was now gone. 

He also told us that people used to take their cattle there to make sure they remained healthy and indeed Enri O’Muirgheasa’s 1936 book makes the following reference: “It was formerly believed that if cattle were driven between the well and the shore at full tide it would render them immune from disease …”. 
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Enri O’Muirgheasa further says about the water from this Well “… and was also a cure for infertility.”

The cross in front of the Holy Well which is set in the stones in front of it

AND THE STRANGE PHENOMENON ... 

The Well in a nest of stones

And interestingly in the same book the author says “The tide passes over the well, but when the tide ebbs the water in the well is fresh.” 

I thought this seemed a bit far-fetched and so I had to taste the water from the Well.  How could the water remain fresh when it is covered by the salty sea twice a day?

I took a scoop of the water and as I stood there, with the sea coming in around me. I sipped it and the water was indeed fresh. 

This surprised me greatly so I took a second sip and this too was clear water with not a hint of salt. 

So there you go.  I can’t explain it but then with such things I suppose it just is and explanation is not necessary.

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