From the beginning of Creation, water has been regarded as sacred and essential for life. Without water no thing or no living creature could live. Water is life. God created water so that we can live and all created things will thrive.
Even before Christianity, water and places where water bursts forth from the ground were considered sacred in Ireland -as in most countries. The ancient wells throughout the country were places of pilgrimage and prayer. Water was believed to have healing powers. Some wells became known as ‘Holy Wells.’
Water nourished the earth and all living creatures. In this part of the world water is plentiful. In some parts of the planet it is scarce -except during the rainy season.
Baptising in water or by simply pouring water on the head was considered by the Church as the symbolic rite of entry to the new life in communion with the Supreme Creator we call God. The first Christians adopted this symbolic ritual as the way of entering the new life in community. It was only for adults at the beginning but then it gradually became usual for infants and children to be baptised. In Ireland some Baptisms often took place at Holy wells.
Other customs grew up associated with the Holy wells –like stone cairns, mounds and trees to which cloths were attached. Sometimes coins were left as votive offerings.
Many of these Holy Wells go back in history to pre-Christian times in Ireland and were later adopted by Christians as sacred places of healing and prayer. For Catholics during the Penal times they became places to gather until it became unsafe to do so due to Persecution. Many Holy Wells are situated near ancient church sites.
It is estimated that there are over 3000 Holy Wells on the island of Ireland which were designated as places of pilgrimage. Holy Wells are often named after National and local saints like Patrick, Brigid, Colmcille, Ninnidh etc. People came to these Wells seeking cures for various ailments. Many of the Wells have fallen into disuse. In the 1960s, people stopped going and the Wells became overgrown and some were filled in.
Their existence and use from the early days of Christianity till the end of the 1950s, is evidence of the strong faith of the Irish people in the healing powers of water. The water was and, in some cases, still is used for blessings for the protection of people and animals.
There are many place-names with the Irish word ‘Tobar’ (tuber, tobar) which indicates the site of a Holy Well. The Irish word ‘tobar’ (tiobra) is found in every county in Ireland. Tiobraid Arann is the name for county Tipperary. There are 250 place-names with the word ‘tobar’ either as a prefix like Tubbercurry (Tobar an Choire-the well of the cauldron) or as a suffix as in Kiltobar in Fermanagh. There are townlands in Tyrone called Ballynatubbrit (Baile na tiobraide) in Cappagh and Aghintobar in Donnaghmore parish.
The respect for the Wells reflects the respect of the Irish people for Creation and their utter dependence on spring wells for water that was safe to drink. Local people were obliged to look after these wells.
Because of this long tradition of respect for water and wells in Ireland, all attempts by foreign mining companies like Dalradian to dig for gold will be opposed. Their only interest is in making money on the gold market. There is no way that gold-mining can take place without causing harm to water channels. All attempts by Dalradian Mining company to dig for gold in
the Sperrins or anywhere else will be resisted by all who believe that our water supply is precious and sacred and must be protected at all costs.
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