They can take many different forms, from simple springs, to more elaborate affairs enclosed with structures. You can read more about them in a free publication by Tamlyn McHugh for the Heritage Council: www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/file...

Many wells are said to offer cures for a variety of ailments, from eye conditions to madness! In many cases, the pattern (or patrún) days are still well observed, with pilgrims and locals visiting places like St Patrick’s Well just outside our hometown of Clonmel.

While a number of wells are likely to have been important places deep into prehistory, today the majority are associated with Christianity, and imbued with tales of early saints like Brigid, Patrick, Colmcille, Brendan, Gobnait and more.

As the weather is heating up, I thought it might be nice to wade into the cool waters of some of Ireland’s holy wells. Ireland has more than 3,000 holy wells, with at least one in almost every parish on the island. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory

In today's edition of our Monument Monday newsletter, we visit one of the places I love best, Kilmalkedar Church on the beautiful Dingle Peninsula. #Ireland #DinglePeninsula #WildAtlanticWay #SpéirGhorm #IrelandTravel

Sunset at Trim Castle, County Meath. Built in the 12th century by the powerful Anglo-Norman lord Hugh De Lacy, Trim Castle is the largest and undoubtedly one of the most impressive Norman castles in Ireland. #Ireland #BoyneValley #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory

There are few beaches as beautiful as Clogher Strand on the Dingle Peninsula. I just love the view across to Inis Tuaisceart — better known as The Sleeping Giant, or as the less whimsical An Fear Marbh - The Dead Man, in Irish. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #WildAtlanticWay #DiscoverIreland

Bronze Armlet • Newry This penannular armlet made from cast bronze dates to the Iron Age, likely around the 1st–2nd century AD. It is thought to have been made in eastern Scotland, making it another example of the connections between late-prehistoric Ireland and Britain In @nmireland.bsky.social

Tintern Abbey • Wexford Tintern Abbey was reputedly founded in c1200 when William Marshal set out on his first visit to Ireland. His ship was struck by a storm off the east coast and was close to foundering. He vowed to God that if he safely reached shore he would found an abbey where he landed

I had a wonderful day on the Great Blasket Island yesterday. Such a hauntingly beautiful place. Looking forward to downloading the photos, and already thinking of when I can visit again! #Ireland #WildAtlanticWay #SpéirGhorm

In today's edition of our free #MonumentMonday newsletter, we visit Ireland's oldest dated megalithic tomb – the incredible Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren of County Clare. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Archaeology 🏺 #DiscoverIreland

A misty but mystical couple of days so far in the Dingle Peninsula. This beautiful landscape looks good in any weather! #Ireland #SpéirGhorm

Take a meander through Ireland’s medieval past with our exclusive Kilkenny’s Medieval Marvels Itinerary Guide. On our journey we’ll discover castles, abbeys, round towers, and some of the finest medieval art in Ireland, as well as meeting this fine fellow! Available for all Tuatha Members!

It is thought to represent a member of the de Canteville (Cantwell) family, possibly Thomas Cantwell who died c1320. Today he has a peaceful existence inside the atmospheric medieval church in Kilkenny, though now he has been encased in a perspex box to prevent further damage from the elements

The Cantwell Fada • Kilkenny This is the remarkable effigy known as the Cantwell Fada, or the Long Man of Kilfane, in County Kilkenny. It stands at over 2.5m (8 ft) tall, and is one of the largest of its type anywhere in Ireland or Britain. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Medieval #IrishHistory

Could this be the case with the Lurgan boat, that it was intended to be completed at a later date and something prevented it being retrieved? Or was it given to the lake as an offering? We may never know, but the next time you're in the Museum, do take a slower walk past this amazing craft!

Interestingly, Dr Niall Gregory noted that while the exterior of the boat was finished, the interior was not completed and some parts were not fully hollowed, suggesting it was still a work in progress that was abandoned or lost.

It was found in 1902 lying 2.5m deep in Addergoole Bog, not far from Tuam in County Galway. It was hollowed from the trunk of a great oak tree around 2400 BC. The boat tapers from a rounded stern to a more pointed bow.

The Lurgan Logboat • Galway When you visit the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street in Dublin, it is impossible to miss this absolutely enormous logboat. At more than 15m long, it takes up nearly the entire length of a wall in the Prehistoric Ireland exhibition of the Museum. #Ireland

Parkavonear Castle • Kerry This 13th century Anglo-Norman castle is located just outside Killarney, next to the important early monastic site of Aghadoe. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #WildAtlanticWay #DiscoverIreland

If you do visit, we have an ideal itinerary guide to turn your day trip into an epic adventure! Our Sligo and Lough Gill Itinerary features megalithic marvels, medieval masterpieces, holy wells and there's even a wondrous waterfall too! Available for Tuatha Members today!

Today is the first Wednesday of the month so it is FREE ENTRY to many heritage sites around Ireland. How about a trip to visit the incredible megalithic cemetery of Carrowmore in County Sligo, with its newly upgraded visitor centre? #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #DiscoverIreland #IrelandTravel

The horses run at full gallop in hot pursuit, though whether it chased man or beast, is now impossible to say. It is also impossible to give a precise date for when it was made. This type of folk art is difficult to pin to a particular period, though it has a feel of the 18th or early 19th century

A fleeting moment in time captured by an unknown artist. This faded depiction of a horse chase can be found on the face of a rock outcrop above the road leading from the ruined medieval church at Carron in the Burren of County Clare.

For this week's edition of our Monument Monday newsletter, we take a trip to the Glen of Aherlow on the border of Tipperary and Limerick, to visit a medieval ruin with a dramatic story to tell. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Medieval #DiscoverIreland

The Skull House • Cooly Church • Inishowen Peninsula • Donegal This small stone building, known as 'The Skull House' may have been a mortuary shrine for St Finnian, who is believed to have founded a monastery here overlooking Lough Foyle in the 6th century. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #IrishHistory

In our brand new itinerary, we take you through some of our favourite locations in the area in a tour through time. Explore megalithic tombs, enormous earthworks, medieval marvels, grand houses and more. We might even meet a donkey or two!

New Itinerary! The Ballyhoura Mountains straddle the border between East Limerick and North Cork, looking down upon the ‘Golden Vale’, some of the best agricultural land in Ireland. Across the millennia this relationship between upland and lowland has forged a distinct archaeological landscape

The Coolnashanton Trumpet • Fermanagh This instrument made from yew and bronze was dredged from the River Erne in the 1950s. It is a very rare example of an early medieval instrument, it is believed to date to around the 9th century. You can see it in Fermanagh County Museum.

This c.13th century effigy of a bishop is set into the northern wall of the chancel of Corcomroe Abbey, in the Burren of County Clare. The bishop is depicted in his vestments of an alb and chasuble, with an unusual mitre on his head. #Ireland #Medieval #SpéirGhorm