The '' Dindsenchas'' of

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

give the physical origins, and etymological source of several bodies of water – in these myth poems the sources of rivers and lakes is sometimes given as being from magical wells. Connla's Well is one of a number of wells in the Irish "

Celtic Otherworld In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the Celtic deities, deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaels, Gaelic and Celtic Britons, Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance an ...

". It is also termed "The Well of Wisdom", or "The Well of Knowledge", and is the mythical source of the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

. The

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Connla's Well'' is known from the '' Dindsenchas''. Another well is described in the dindsenchas about

Boann Boann or Boand is the Irish mythology, Irish goddess of the River Boyne (''Bóinn''), an important river in Ireland's historical province of Kingdom of Meath, Meath. According to the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' and ''Táin Bó Fraích'' she was th ...

, in the text as ("Secret Well") mythologically given as the origin of the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...

. This well has also been referred to as Nechtan's Well, or the Well of Segais. Some writers conflate both Nechtan's and Connla's well, making it the source of both Shannon and Boyne. Loch Garman's mythological origin is also given in the dindsenchas – in some translations or interpretations of the text the source of the water is given as the Well of Coelrind, though this has also been rendered as ''port of ..'', or even ''fountain of ..''.

Connla's Well

In the '' Dindsenchas'' (Sinann I) refers to a ''"well with flow unfailing"'' as the source of the Sinann (Shannon). In (Sinann II) the well is referred to as ''Connla's well''. In the poem the well is associated with the drowning of ''Sinend'', daughter of ''Lodan Lucharglan'', son of ''Ler'', of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...

– giving the river its name. Hazel trees, the nuts thereof which fall into the water and feed Salmon are also mention in Sinann II. speculated that the name ''Connla's Well'' derived from some event (now lost) happening after Connla the Ruddy's journey to the land of the Aos Si. states that there is a tradition that the seven streams flowing from the well formed the rivers including the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

, River Barrow, and

River Slaney The River Slaney (; ) is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), ...

Well of Segais

Another well is described in '' Dindsenchas'' refers to a ''topur diamair'' ("secret well") located in the ''Sid Nechtan''. This poem tells of ''

'' wife of '' Nechtan'', son of '' Labraid'' – the poem derives the origin of another river (

) from this magic well, and from the mutilation of Boann by the waters of the well. This well is sometimes known as the ''Well of Segais'' (''Segais'' means "forest"), from Boann's name in the otherwold, and the Boyne is also known as the ''Sruth Segsa''. Other sources also refer to this well as ''Nechtan's Well''. In the ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' (ed. James MacKillop) this well, as well as the ''Well of Connla'' are conflated, as ''Well of Segais'', which is stated to be the source of both the

and

Well of Coelrind

The term ''Well of Coelrind'' has been used with reference to the formation of Loch Garman as described in the '' dindsenchas''. In the tale ''Garman mac Bomma Licce'' (Garman, son of Bomma Licce) steals the queen's crown at Temair during the drinking during the feast of Samain. He is pursued to the mouth of the

where the waters burst forth drowning him – hence giving the name of Loch Garman. In there is no mention of a well, the place is rendered as ''port Cóelrenna'' ("port Coelrenna"). In the place of drowning is translated as the "well of Port Coelrenna", and the water is said to have burst forth as Garman was being drowned. Elsewhere the place is translated "fountain fCaelrind".

Legacy

Connla's Well is a common motif in Irish poetry, appearing, for example, in George William Russell's poem "The Nuts of Knowledge" or "Connla's Well":

And when the sun sets dimmed in eve, and purple fills the air,
I think the sacred hazel-tree is dropping berries there,
From starry fruitage, waved aloft where Connla's Well o'erflows;
For sure, the immortal waters run through every wind that blows.

Yeats described the well, which he encountered in a trance, as being full of the "waters of emotion and passion, in which all purified souls are entangled".

References

Sources