Holy Wells and Mass Rocks

Holy Wells

In the parish of Cratloe there is a Holy Well called St John the Baptist's well. This well is about a quarter of a mile from the ruin of Cratloe Moyle castle. Traditionally at the well, rounds consist of 5 rounds of the well while saying the rosary. The last round of the well is to be completed while on your bare knees. Various offerings were left at the well. The well is rarely visited nowadays and it is believed that the curative powers of the well are lost. According to local tradition, the owner, a Mr Frost wanted to improve the well. He got workmen to drain the well while working on it. The water in the well never really came back.

The well is accessible from the STS factory. There is a story about a man who cut down one of the trees at the well. He took the timber to a mill in Limerick to cut it and he got caught in the machinery and died. There is also the story about the landowner who wanted to stop people walking on his land. He tried to empty the well so people would stop visiting it. He failed and spent the rest of his life being thirsty. The owner's name is unknown.

There is another well in the townland of Carrowmore called St Michael's well. The well is named after the Archangel Michael. The well lies in a rock and the water was believed to cure sore or weak eyes and warts. If you were looking for a cure, the water was rubbed to the affected area

on three occasions and no water was taken away. Devotions ceased at the well in the 1940s. There is also believed to have been a Holy Well at Heathmount. It is remembered locally as having been situated behind Coughlan's old house and near Kilfintinane Church.

Mass Rocks

There was a mass rock in the townland of Brickhill West and the site is claimed to be located behind the remains of a house in the briars.There was another mass rock in Heathmount near the Holy Well in the same townland.

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