St. Gobnait’s Well and Temple

By Carl J Ashley

As part of our Eire Equinox Experience Tour September 2024, we will be visiting the sacred site nestled in the mountains between Cork and Kerry, near beautiful Bhaile Bhuirne or Ballyvourney, a small and beautiful Gaeltacht village in southwest County Cork,

I loved how peaceful it was there, with the grotto, the ancient church, the cemetery and the absolutely wonderful trees. Amazing place. The weather was a mixed bag, with rain and sunshine, on the day, and as people came and went we got the vibe that this was a very alive and well (pardon the pun) sacred site, and still functioning as an active place for members of the community to perform their religious duties and/or pay their respects to their passed over loved ones, not to mention worship St. Gobnait herself.

So who was Saint Gobnait?

She is known as the patron saint of ironworkers, beekeepers, and Ballyvourney itself. And the ‘Saint’ bit probably came long after she was alive, added by the Christians, who patronised so much of the older wisdom, practices, and sacred sites from times long before, when Eire was a place of pagans, druids and indigenous people who were connected with the land.

Indeed, early recorded information on her is relatively scarce, and biographies written after a saint’s death are usually the principal source of evidence for a saint’s existence and life story. St Gobnait is, however, mentioned in the Life of St Abbán, a male saint who was also linked with Ballyvourney. Two versions of this survive – a Latin Life (Vita Sancti Abbani) of probable 12th or 13th-century date and an abbreviated Irish Life (Betha Abáin) of later date. Both versions probably draw from earlier sources that have not survived.

Referring to Ballyvourney by its old names “Huisneach” and “Boirneach”, these texts tell us that: “In the territory of Muscraige, Abbán built a monastery called ‘Huisneach’ [Ballyvourney]. Abbán then surrendered this place and monastery to the virgin St Gobnait.” (Translation by Dr Ellen Ganly)

Despite the absence of her own hagiographical account, St Gobnait is referred to in several other medieval texts, including the 8th or 9th-century Martyrology of Tallaght, the 12th century Book of Leinster and the 12th century Martyrology of Gorman. According to the foremost expert on Irish saints, Pádraig Ó Riain, the genealogies trace Gobnait’s ancestry to the Munster dynasty of the Múscraighe Midíne.

Regardless of the meagre documentary evidence, much of the story of St Gobnait has been handed down to us through oral folklore and placename evidence. For example, from the oral tradition, we learn that Gobnait either originated from or travelled to the island of Inis Oírr – the smallest of the Aran Islands. There, you’ll find the ruins of a small pre-Romanesque church called Kilgobnet (Cill Ghobnait) meaning “Gobnait’s Church”.

On Inis Oírr, an angel appeared to Gobnait and instructed her that she would see nine white deer grazing at the “port a h-aiséirí” or “place of her resurrection”. Setting off from the island, she moved down the country and left her mark on numerous places throughout Munster, which often preserve her name or alternative appellations and anglicizations of her name in the form of Deborah, Derivla, Abigail and Abby.

For example, in Co. Kerry, there are two early ecclesiastical sites named Kilgobnet, one on the Dingle Peninsula near Dún Chaoin and the other near the village of Kilgobnet not far from Killorglin. Both boast a variety of interesting monuments, including a holy well called Tobar Ghobnait (meaning Gobnait’s Well) on the Dingle Peninsula, while at the other site, a circular cell-like stone structure and a nearby ringfort were recorded as “St Gobnet’s cloghaun” and “Lissgubnet” respectively. At both sites, a pattern was traditionally held on the saint’s feastday, 11 February; however, only on the Dingle Peninsula are rounds of the various monuments still performed on this date.

Near Ballyagran in Co. Limerick, the antiquarian TJ Westropp recorded a church called Kilgobnet in c.1904, while close by is a ringfort named St Gobnet’s Fort and a holy well known variously as St Gobnait’s Well, St Derivla’s Well and St Deborah’s Well. In 1955, Caoimhín Ó Danachair noted the belief that “Saint Gobnait lived here” and “a white stag is sometimes seen at the well”. A fair was held here on 11 February into the late 1800s, while rounds of the well were still carried out up until the mid-1950s.

Also in Limerick, near Killmallock and probably associated with Cloheen graveyard and probable early church site, is another holy well dedicated to the saint called Tubbergubbanit but more often recorded as Deborah’s Well.

Further east in Co. Waterford, in the parish of Kilgobnet, you’ll find a medieval church dedicated to the saint, as well as a holy well previously called Tobergobnet. Again, in the past, a pattern was held at the well on 11 February.

And hence many places can claim to have some connection to Gobnait! She certainly got about a bit, if they are all valid and true!

Eventually, Gobnait found her way to West Muskerry in Co. Cork. The saint is said to have seen three white deer near Clondrohid, six in the townland of Killeen, before finally finding nine white deer, as foretold by the angel, at Gortnatubbrid in Ballyvourney. There, Abbán surrendered his monastic foundation to St Gobnait and there she remained for the rest of her life.

 

The site

A short distance south of the village of Ballyvourney is an early medieval ecclesiastical site featuring two churches dedicated to St Gobnait – a late medieval parish church (Teampall Ghobnatan) and a 19th-century Church of Ireland building – surrounded by an enclosed graveyard (Reilg Ghobnatan). This church site is traditionally believed to be the site of St Gobnait’s foundation.

St Gobnait’s Church at Ballyvourney is a late medieval nave-and-chancel building incorporating some features of an earlier Romanesque church.

Perhaps the most important site at Ballyvourney is the grave of the founding saint. Sited within the graveyard, a low grass-covered stone mound is believed to mark St Gobnait’s final resting place. The mound is surmounted by two flat slabs roughly carved with crosses and a piece of a bullaun stone, with another part of a bullaun nearby. At the base of the mound is a flat slab with two depressions, which pilgrims use as a kneeler.

Across the road from the graveyard is a stone-built circular hut structure measuring approximately 10m (30ft) in diameter. Tradition has it that the saint lived in this hut and so it is called St Gobnait’s House or St Gobnait’s Kitchen. It was excavated in 1951 by MJ O’Kelly, Professor of Archaeology at University College Cork. Excavation revealed a large post-hole in the centre of the house, which probably supported the roof and two posts for the door frame. Beneath the circular structure was a wooden rectangular house(/s) possibly dating to the 9th or 10th centuries AD.

The excavation also revealed numerous iron-smelting and metal-working pits, furnace bottoms, tuyere fragments, crucibles and large amounts of charcoal and slag (the waste product of iron smelting). In relation to the extensive evidence for ironworking at Ballyvourney, it is interesting to note that Gobnait is the patron saint of ironworkers. The name Gobnait combines the pet name Gobba, which derives from “gobha” or “gabha” meaning “smith”, and the feminine suffix -nait/-naid.

Other artefacts found during the excavation – including a glass bead, a spindle whorl, knives, nails and stone objects such as flints, whetstones and quern stones – were interpreted as evidence of occupation from much earlier times.

Following the excavation, the circular hut was conserved and modern limestone columns were erected to mark the positions of the central post-hole and the post-holes that supported the door.

Close to St Gobnait’s House, the excavation team uncovered a well that O’Kelly believed was used for domestic purposes connected with the hut site. Traditionally called Tobar Ghobnatan, the well was reconstructed and has since been venerated.

The statue

Significantly, a 13th or 14th-century wooden statue of the saint is kept in Ballyvourney. A rare survival, it is one of only five extant medieval wooden statues of Irish saints. Made of oak, it is 69cm (27in) tall. Its back is hollowed out, which is a feature of medieval wooden statues of this form and date. The face is now featureless apart from the left eye. Her left arm is folded across her chest and the right hand is by her side, holding a fold of her dress. Her clothes still show some remnants of paint. Previous descriptions indicate she is wearing a red dress, white wimple, and blue cloak.

The wooden statue of St Gobnait is now stored in the Catholic parish church in the village and is only placed on display twice a year: 11 February (St Gobnait’s feastday) and Whitsunday. Tradition has it that this statue replaced an earlier gold statue of St Gobnait, which was buried in a place known as “Clais na hIomhaighe” (“Pit of the Image”).

Across the road from the graveyard and close to the excavated well stands a striking life-sized limestone statue of St Gobnait, carved by renowned Cork sculptor Séamus Murphy. It was unveiled on Whitsunday 1951, shortly before O’Kelly’s excavation began. At the base of the statue, carvings of bees are the dominant motif in reference to St Gobnait’s patronage of beekeepers. The saint herself is reputed to have kept bees for their honey, which was an extremely important food source, with medicinal properties, at a period when sugar was unknown in Ireland.

One legend tells us that Gobnait sent a swarm of bees after raiders, who had attempted to steal cattle in Ballyvourney. Interestingly, St Gobnait is also known as Deborah and that name derives from the Hebrew word for bee.

Sir Richard Cox described Ballyvourney in 1687 as “a small village, considerable only for some holy relick (I think of St. Gobonett) which does many cures and other miracles, and therefore there is great resort of pilgrims thither.”

The wooden statue of St Gobnait was also mentioned by Charles Smith in his history of Cork in 1750. It was then “kept in a chest very private, and never exposed but upon festival days, and when it is carried to sick people”.

Regarding the feastdays, Smith remarked that on those days, the statue was displayed in the graveyard on a small stone cross; there, pilgrims would encircle the statue on their knees while reciting prayers. He also referred to a custom performed by pilgrims of tying handkerchiefs about the neck of the statue, “which they imagine will preserve them from several diseases”. Daphne Pochin Mould described a similar scenario in the 1950s, stating that “one lays the ribbon lengthwise, then around the neck and round the waist, and gives a final rub along the whole statue with it”. Traditionally, the statue was also used during oath-swearing rituals.

 

The Pilgrims

Although the pilgrimage rounds forming the Turas Ghobnatan have been adapted over time, they are still very much part and parcel of life in Ballyvourney. The most popular days to undertake the rounds are still St Gobnait’s feastday and Whitsunday but they can be performed at any time as a mark of devotion to the saint or to seek a cure for a sick relative or friend.

Today, St Gobnait’s House and the modern statue are grouped together as part of the first station. The rounds start at the statue with the following prayer in Irish:

“Go mbeannaí Dia dhuit, a Ghobnait Naofa,

Go mbeannaí Muire dhuit agus beannaím féin duit,

Is chugat-sa a thánag ag gearán mo scéil leat,

Is ag d’iarraigh leigheas ar son Dé ort.”

(“May God bless you, O Holy Gobnait,

May Mary bless you and I bless you myself,

To you I come complaining of my situation,

And asking you, for God’s sake, to grant me a cure.”)

Twice the pilgrim walks around St Gobnait’s House and the statue making a large circle. Then, the pilgrim makes a smaller circle around St Gobnait’s House only. Each time a round (i.e. a circle) is made, the pilgrim recites seven Our Fathers, seven Hail Marys, seven Glorias and the Apostle’s Creed. The rounds are always walked slowly ar deiseal (in a clockwise direction).

As part of the ritual activities at the first station, pilgrims, using small stones, often carve crosses into the modern limestone columns that mark the position of the post-holes at St Gobnait’s House. The reconstructed well excavated in the 1950s is also visited by some pilgrims, as part of this station, who take a drink of its water.

After this, the pilgrim continues to a number of stations within the graveyard, always walking in a clockwise direction and reciting the same prayers at each station (seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias). The first of these stations is St Gobnait’s Grave. Pilgrims often leave behind votive offerings at the grave-site, such as rosary beads, holy statues, pieces of cloth and even mobile phones.

On leaving the church, the pilgrim again circles the church and then stops at the southeastern corner where the tomb of the 17th-century priest Fr O’Herlihy is located. In the past, the priest’s thigh bone was rubbed on ailing body parts in the belief that it would bring about a cure. As usual, seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias are recited at this stopping point.

The pilgrim then proceeds to the bulla, a spherical agate stone mysteriously lodged in the western gable of the church. The pilgrim makes the sign of the cross on the bulla and three times on themselves. The usual prayers are then recited. The bulla, very much associated with St Gobnait in her role as protector of Ballyvourney, has a long tradition of miraculously curing both humans and animals. The pilgrim rubs a ribbon or a handkerchief on the bulla, which is believed to have accrued the power to cure illnesses from the stone.

The final station of the pilgrimage is the holy well, Tobar Ghobnatan, a short walk from the graveyard. While walking along the road to the well, a decade of the Rosary is said (the fifth and final decade). After the usual seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias are recited at the holy well, the pilgrim takes a drink from the well, which is believed to have healing powers.

“Ar impí an Tiarna agus Naomh Ghobnatan mo chuid tinnis d’fhágaint anseo.”

(“Imploring the Lord and St Gobnait to relieve me of my sickness.”)

Or “A Ghobnait an dúchais

Do bhíodh I mBaile Mhuirne

Go dtaga tú chugamsa

Le d ’chabhair is le d’ chúnamh.”

(“O Gobnait of Ballyvourney, come to me with your help and your assistance.”)

Beside this holy well is a rag tree. Many offerings have been left behind at the well and on the tree, such as rosary beads, holy statues and pieces of cloth. By leaving behind these objects, pilgrims believe they are casting off their illnesses.

The Sheela

Interestingly, there is a figure-carving on the external south wall of St Gobnait’s Church.

The Sheela looks very out of place, possibly almost put in there to appease the the superstitious beliefs of the locals at the time.

It is believed locally to represent St Gobnait.

What do you make of this yourself?

Come with us and let’s see…