School: Cloonmorris (roll number 12496)

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1. Holy Wells

   

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   There is a holy well in Roscommon it is said that St. Barry was working with a farmer and there were four or five other men with the farmer and St. Barry digging potatoes. The farmer's wife didn't like St. Barry and when she was bringing out the dinner she put poison in St. Barry's dinner. It was a custom of St. Barry to bless his food before eating and when he blessed it a serpent flew out of his dinner.

   There was a lake near them and the serpent ran down towards the lake and the men said if he went into the water he would poison the water and anyone who went into it would also be poisoned. St Barry got up and ran after the serpent, he took out a Rosary beads and hit the serpent on the head and it is said, where his head fell a well sprung up and the stations of the Cross are said some date in October in rememberance of St Barry.

   There is a holy well in Thomas Gearty's field of Cloonart. Some years ago someone washed dirty clothes in this well, and the well moved down to the bottom of the field, where the water burst up in a crack in a rock. If anyone wanted to get water out

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Bridie Cox

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cloonart North, Co. Longford

   Informant

   Mrs Coote Geelan

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   60

   Occupation

   Farmer's wife

   Address

   Cloonageeher, Co. Longford