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Encyclopedia entry: holy wells
- Article from:
- The Oxford Companion to Irish History
Copyright© The Oxford Companion to Irish History 2007, originally published by Oxford University Press 2007. (Hide copyright information)
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holy wells,
in Ireland as elsewhere, were a common feature of popular tradition. Visitors could seek supernatural protection, relief from illness, or other benefits by drinking the water, by performing one or more circuits round the site, possibly reciting prayers or charms, and often leaving behind them a piece of cloth or other token. On the feast day of the saint to whom it was dedicated, a well might be the focus of more elaborate festivities at a
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