The Kings Well near Tipperary Town

Copright OSI

I first came across some folklore on duchas.ie relating to a well where Brian Boru is meant to have washed his wounds following the Battle of Soloheadbeg in 968.

"The Danes came to the hill of Brogue in the year 968. Brian Boru was going to Solohead to fight a battle with them. Brian won the battle. So after the battle Brian washed his wounds beside a well near Solohead and since then the district around it is called King's Well. At that time there was no town in Tipperary. The town was at Greenane about a mile outside the present town of Tipperary."

https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922296/4867865/5055948

I posted about it over on my facebook page, asking if anyone can came across this well or the placename. Thanks to the magic of facebook and people helping each other on it, Barbara Daly Ledwidge gave me a lead that the northern edge of Tipperary Town is known as Kings Well on google maps.

A check on archaeology.ie was able to reveal the location of a well noted as "black well" on the 1840s OS map that is now sadly no longer there on the edge of the townlands of Sadlierwell & Carrownreddy.

It is described as follows:

"In pasture, on a W-facing slope, at townland boundary between Carrownreddy and Sadleirswells. There is no visible trace of this well above ground. It is named on the 1st (1840) ed. OS 6-inch map as 'Black Well'. The ground is poorly drained on either side of the townland boundary (Wth c. 1.5m). There is no local information of a well at this location, however it is frequently noted as a wet area. According to Flynn (1913, 8-9) 'Tubber Bryan' was the name of an old well 'which existed some 200 yards from the mote on Tipperary Hills, but which is now closed up'. It was so named because of a tradition that 'Brian Boro washed his wonds there after the battle of Sulcoit' (ibid.). The well is depicted on the Down Survey map (1655-6) as 'Tobburbrien' and is mentioned in the Civil Survey (1654-5) where 'Tobberbryen' appears to be the old name for this townland (Simington 1934 vol. 2, 38)."

Logaimn.ie seems to confirm this revealing the old name for Sadlierswell was Tobar Bhriain.
https://www.logainm.ie/en/49049?s=Sadleirswells

So from the top of the Motte in Tipperary Hills it is likely that the location of the former well is visible. It could be a nice way to tie in the story of the Battle of Sologhead and the turning point in the Dál gCais clan history to the town.

Edit 

Thanks to Gary Brannigan who found the location of the well on one of the Old OS maps. I have sent it to the NMS. 

A recently discovered Megalithic Tomb at Aghnameadle

Aghnameadle Megalithic Tomb in North Tipp. Only discovered and recorded in 2017 by Tom Bán of Wovenworld bushcraft, it just shows that large structures can remain unknown in Ireland even today. Well done to Tom for finding this and bringing it to the attention of the NMS.

The area seems to be one of settlement for thousands of years with a nearby Motte and a castle belonging to the Egan clan which also doubled up as a medieval university.

The tomb it is described as follows on archaeology.ie

"Situated in slight hollow in undulating countryside with Ollatrim River 50m to NE and low hillock immediately to N. Field boundary running ENE-WSW immediately to SSE. Present remains consist of two upright orthostats their long axis aligned NE-SW standing 90cm apart with the remains of a large displaced capstone (dims. 1.75m x 1.4m x 0.45m) resting on E orthostat (dims. H 0.7m x L 1.17m x T. 0.3m) forming a small rectangular chamber (approx. dims. L 2.8m x Wth 0.9m). A second large recumbent stone immediately to N may be the remains of a collapsed side-stone or capstone. A semi-circular line of low stones immediately to N may represent kerbstones of a low mound (approx. diam. c. 3m). Possible remains of a megalithic tomb which has been partially destroyed. On the 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map the possible tomb is standing inside an irregular-shaped grove of trees which have since been removed."