Balla Holy Well project is an example of wonderful community effort
By Tom Gillespie
A CROSS-community effort over three years has resulted in a holy well in Balla, dating back to 637 AD, and a ‘rest house’ being lovingly restored.
The local Community Council, backed by Mayo County Council, the Balla Active Retirement Group, South West Mayo Leader and several private donations saw the project come to fruition.
Legend has it that St. Crónán choose to settle at Balla because of a divine sign. It was said that a cloud guided the saint to Balla and on his arrival a spring burst from the ground.
Samuel Lewis, the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, wrote in 1837: “St. Mochuo, or Cronan, who died in 637, founded a monastery here, of which he became the first abbot.
“A well, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, with a small chapel attached, is attended by a great number of the peasantry at pattens held on August 15 and September 8.”
The waters of the well were held to have healing properties and were especially good for sore eyes.
Three men - Fr. Denis Carney, Jack Ryan and Pat Boyle - are credited with seeing the project completed.
Jack Ryan explained it started in 2000 when he became chairperson of Balla Community Council.
He said: "It was my ambition all the time to see the blessed well area being refurbished. I teamed up with Terry Gallagher and Sr. Maureen Lally to launch the project. We ran into many problems because the area was owned by the Department of the Environment and we could not touch it.”
After months of paper work, he said, the plot was signed over to Mayo County Council, adding: “The council owned it then and we could deal with the council.
“About 2007/08 a grant was sought from the Department of the Environment. Sr. Lally and the late John McWalter drew up the detailed plans and sent them off. Unfortunately, we were running into bad times and the funds were not there and we were turned down.
“About 2015/16 we had a meeting in the community hall and Fr. Denis Carney said he would act as chairperson. We got the Rural Social Scheme from the South West Development Company and Mayo County Council backed it. Work on progressing the project was operated by three people - Fr. Carney, Pat Boyle and myself. It cost the Community Council €8,000 or €9,000. The council gave us Sue Zajec, an archaeologist, to supervise the project.”
Explaining how the project cost so much, he said: “Why it cost us so much money was that a guy used to come up from Cork from the department and every time he came we had to give him €970 and he came six or seven times. We had to get special timber that cost us €1,000, to prop one of the walls that was tilted and bring it back. A man from Sligo pumped liquid concrete into the wall and he cost us around €1,000. It must have cost up to €10,000 in total.
“We got a few thousand in donations and the Community Council paid for the rest. It was done over a two or three-year period. We had a problem in that we had two men working here that were only on a one year scheme and they left. We had to get two guys from Hollymount/Roundfort to replace them and as it happened those two people worked here on the community centre going back 20 years.”
Ann Sweeney from Mayo County Council, he said, was very good to them. She supplied the special cement as well as paying for scaffolding and the railing around the well.
He added: "When we got it finished we asked Minister Michael Ring in August of last year to open it. However, he could not do it so Fr. Denis said there were two people who would - Mary Jo Dempsey, who is in charge of Active Age here, and myself. Minister Ring came a month later.”
Pat Boyle, chairman of the Community Centre and Balla Tidy Towns, said what they wanted to emphasise was the holy well project was a very good example of community spirit, supported by a whole lot of agencies.
“It was a real meitheal approach,” he said. “It could not have happened only for the community council had funds to put into it. We also have to recognise a number of anonymous donors and Tom Holden who gave the stone needed free of charge to match what was there.
“It would never have happened but for Mayo County Council. They supported us right from the beginning, as did South West Mayo Leader. It was great to have talented stone masons that were working on schemes in the area help us out.
“A number of committees had met and looked at the project over the years but there was no real support at the time. We were lucky this time that a number of elements came together. We won the Pride of Place in 2018 and the Holy Well restoration was highlighted as a flagship project.
“Everyone is very happy that the project was completed. We are proud of it now.”
Mr. Boyle continued: “The Blessed Well itself is closed in. We did not open it.
“The well that is in the corner is not the blessed well. That well was used by farmers years ago to take barrels of water.
“The blessed well is at the west gable of the rest house. For safety reasons we decided not to open it. When the Moy drainage was done the well dropped as the water table dropped.
“It may be opened in years to come. It would be lovely to open it up, put a glass top on it and light it. But that is a project down the road.”
Jack Ryan said in 2009 they set up a 36-mile walk from Balla to Croagh Patrick through a three-day walking festival.
He concluded: “We had to get a right-of-way from here to Croagh Patrick.
“The reason I wanted the Blessed Well completed was because the walk starts from there.”