Tobar na Molt

Up at the crack of dawn and it had almost stopped raining. A hearty breakfast and then we all piled off to St Michael's Well, Lixnaw to meet Tim Joe, the well keeper there. A lovely gentle soul, he showed us old photos of the site and talked about all the changes. We sat drinking tea and eating digestive biscuits watched by a photo of the pope kissing babies and pondered on it all
Then on to Tobar na Molt and a meeting with Annamarie and Richard, the wellkeepers there. A very different site - truly ancient and full of stories in its sea of green. The little building is either where the priest changed and warmed himself up before doing the business (it has a fireplace and chimney) or was where pilgrims could  change before they immersed themselves in the well. This site is flourishing, so many offerings and rags and the water looked rather inviting as it percolated away. We then learnt we were being whisked off to Josephine's for more tea and refreshments-  so welcome at this point!  Josephine is the secretary of the historical society I had contacted to try and find out about the well and she wanted to meet me! A wondrous spread was laid out before us - Irish hospitality was truly flourishing in north Cork and north Kerry. We felt very privileged to have met such interesting people.
We had a quick conflab before setting off home. Marie was incredibly perceptive about all the wells and their keepers and now she has to make a difficult choice, I'm glad its not me doing this bit.
A long drive home and we were in bed very early! A most satisfying and enlightening few days. And I'm still in awe of seeing the eel!

Field trip 1
Field trip 2