Happy St Declan’s Day! For the occasion here is a post from 2012 from the wonderful Pilgrimage in Medieval Ireland blog which I have had cause to reblog much from. By my reckoning this year’s pilgrimage will be at Toor on Thursday coming the 26th..
St Declan’s Well at Toor in Co. Waterford, has a special significance for me as my grandmother, who was originally from the area, visited the well throughout her life (even when living in another county).
St Declan’s Well
According to folklore St Declan stopped here while en route to Cashel to quenched his thirst and it was this act that blessed the waters (Komen no date). I was unable to find any references to the well prior to the twentieth century, but the dedication to St Declan a pre-patrician saint suggests it is of some antiquity and it may have originally attracted pilgrims only from the local area.
Statue of St Declan at Toor
Changing landscape of the Well
The modern landscape of the well is relatively recent. The statues, the structure where mass is said, the outdoor pulpit, are all additions dating to the 1950’s -1960’s. The coniferous plantation…
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Séamus Sweeney 