Tobar Tlachtga (the Druid’s Well)

Here is a rather sad site that I have been sitting on for some time now. I had hoped to go back for a return visit and see if there had been any change bit the opportunity never came about. Perhaps I will get back up there for Samhain! I first visited the Druids Well which is also known as Tobar Tlachtga or Tobar Draoithe last year for the Dark Moon of Samhain celebrations at Tlachtga near Athboy (Átha Buí) in Co. Meath. This Tobar is an immersion well which can be found on the south side of the Hill of Ward.

I have to say that I was completely disgusted at the state of this special place. Although it sits on private lands, people have been coming here for years. In images I had seen from previous years the well looked to be in reasonable good condition and had had a small fence erected around it to provide some form of protection, but on this visit the fence had been knocked down, there were piles of rubble lying around the edges’ and signs of gorse burning all around. As my friend Con pointed out it looked like someone was clearing the field and perhaps preparing to fill in the well. Even the water in the well was disgusting, covered in a thick layer of green scum, which would lead me to believe that the local water table has been contaminated

Each year my friends from the Celtic Druid Temple hold a number of ceremonies to celebrate Samhain starting at the Druids Well. This ancient spring  is one of three such wells all within a few hundred meters of Tlachtga itself and is the one associated with the Druids since ancient times. The ceremony at the Druids well involved sprinkling water taken from other holy wells and adding good intentions and blessings. Many people will visit here as part of the Samhain celebrations every year so hopefully things have improved since my last visit. I will be doing my best to visit again this year and will update you of any progress.

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