St Bernard’s Well on Barnane Walk

There are many levels of truth and mystery surrounding St Bernard’s Well, Fermoy which although at the very periphery of the town retains a certain atmosphere and feeling that is profoundly sylvan and in its tranquil restfulness so far away from the frenetic pressures of urban life. A place where the mystical and the human blend harmoniously together.

We follow the direct line of the path to the inner space all hemmed round by a circumference of whitewashed stone. A sinuous, almost delicate tree encased in its metal guard keeps watch over the holy well that is the focal point of the scene. It offers an aperture into the subterranean depths far below with its pristine waters remaining tantalizingly hidden from our view.

All around, lush foliage is huddled, reminding us of the dreamlike sense of the natural setting in all its abundant flourishing.

The straight path establishes a dialogue with the portion of sky that fills the gap between the trees. The path is scattered with autumn leaves, fallen and shrivelled, we can almost hear them crinkle under our steps if we advance into the scene or if even the mildest breeze should blow them along the ground. Seeing them scattered there reminds us most obviously of the ending of summer and the transience of all time and the seasons of life itself. The pool of sky offers a counter balancing vision of the dream of eternity.

This well has played a special part in the lives of the people of the town. Known to many as the ‘Kissing Well’, it is a place where the young have brought the dreams of love and made many a tryst with what may have been imagined was a lasting destiny. Instead, all too often those moments of joy shine brightly in the hearts of many with the wistful sense of what might have been. All of which makes such tender memories shine like stars in the firmament of nostalgia with an even greater intensity. The stones have heard all the joyful whisperings: the waters have often gently rippled with a sense of something lost which yet forever lingers.

And what has any of this to do with St Bernard of Clairvaux and the monastery founded some thousand years ago by his Cistercian Order on the banks of the Blackwater. This place here, photographed by Breeda Kiely Morgan of Frank Morgan Studios, once knew the sweetness of incense and heard the austere beauty of plainchant. St Bernard is reputed to have come here and blessed these waters and endowed them with healing power especially in the cure of blindness. The most powerful churchman of his day, St. Bernard’s influence and the intensity of his mission were keenly felt here. His feast day - August 20th - also happens to be my birthday! But I was not given his name but of another great saint, Kevin, who achieved sanctity and holiness by the lakeside of Glendalough. My mother liked the name, as I do also for indeed Kevin rhymes neatly with heaven. Yet, sharing my special day with St Bernard of Clairvaux gives me a lifelong link with him.

And for all of his avowed puritanical intentions, Bernard felt the power of art and the love that alone creates it. He confessed of how he could spend all day admiring the fantastic designs and motifs on cloister columns instead of contemplating the Divine Law. And in this place of nature and water sweetened by the touch of love, it is apt to remember his own beautiful words on the subject: ‘We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us’.

The water rising from the natural spring tells of the cleansing power of the Earth’s bounty. It also offers reminder of the grace of Christian symbolism as Jesus spoke of salvation as like streams of flowing water. This also is the wellspring that has fed and still carries the memories of love’s young dream. And no doubt its water has given soothing refreshment to many on countless sultry summer evenings. So much that has swirled around it across the generations was fleeting and ephemeral. But it retains the purest dream of all that the world in its waters and growth and in all of us its people are sacred and beautiful and we are on a great river journey to where at last we will find a resting place in each other just as St Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of all those long centuries ago.

St Bernard’s well is a hallowed place to which people have come for healing and the renewal of vision: for restoration of the gift of sight in times past as well as that inner vision of the spirit that brings hope and strength. All of which makes this spot so very meaningful and poignant.

FERMOY CALENDAR 2022

This image of St Bernard’s Well appears in the Fermoy Calendar 2022 – now on sale at local outlets.