Tradition, superstition, warts and nylon rags

On the path to the Dungiven Priory, the 12th Century Augustinian building with the 15th-century tomb of Cooey-na-Gall, is the famous ‘wart well’.

Local tradition has it that the water from the well contains a cure for warts and other ailments. The belief is that the afflicted should wash their skin using a rag soaked in water from the wart well.

The piece of cloth is then tied and hung on the trees surrounding the well and, as the rag rots and disintegrates, so too does the wart, verruca or other affliction of the skin.

A serious problem with the superstitious custom seems to have arisen in recent years, however, with the widespread use of synthetic fibres - which may not decay naturally for anywhere up to one thousand years.

Does this mean that the numerous people seeking the curative powers of the well will be disappointed as they await the decomposing of their nylon rag? It would appear that it may be a fairly common problem for people from the Roe Valley - with the flapping of numerous pieces of synthetic cloth tied to the tree at the wart well acting as a tribute to the misunderstanding of a custom dating to antiquity, or to the complete faith in the restorative power of the water from the well to overcome flaws in the custom itself.

Whatever which way the problem of the wart well and the nylon rags are viewed, the rags themselves cannot be expected to decay until long after the person afflicted with the warts is dead and buried. The symbolic decay of the rag and the associated healing of the wart may never take place for the unhappy person seeking a cure.

The tradition itself is presumed to date to antiquity, with some even suggesting that it may pre-date the arrival of Christianity itself.

The wart well can be found on the path to the 12th Century Augustinian Priory in Dungiven, a spectacular ruin which houses the tomb of one of the fallen O’Kane (O’Cahan) chiefs who died in 1385, known as Cooey-na-Gall.

The ‘wart well’ itself is not actually well in the traditional sense, but rather a ‘bullaun stone’. These stones are common to Ireland and Scotland, with the word bullán or bullaun thought to cognate with ‘bowl’ and the French term ‘bol’. A bullaun stone usually has a large depression filled with water, and it is the water from these stones which is thought to contain the healing power.

The custom of using the stones for their healing properties is generally thought to pre-date the arrival of Christianity in Ireland by some time, although ritual use of some of the stones continued well into the Christian period – and at Dungiven right into the present day.

Many are found in association with early churches, such as the ‘Deer’ Stone at Glendalough, County Wicklow. Another example at St Brigid’s Stone in County Cavan still has its ‘cure’ or ‘curse’ stones. These would be used by turning them whilst praying for or cursing somebody.

Earlier this year, the first ‘cursing stone’ to be found in Scotland was discovered on the island of Canna and is believed to have dated back to the year 800AD.

Bullaun stones are not unique to Ireland and Scotland, being also found on the Swedish island of Gotland, in France and even as far away as Lithuania.

The custom of tying a piece of cloth to a tree while seeking a cure, or making a wish, is also in evidence throughout Europe, with another famous example found at Pathos, in Cyprus.

Possibly enlarged from already-existing solution-pits caused by rain, bullaun stones are somewhat reminiscent of cup-marked stones which occur all over Atlantic Europe, and their significance must date from Neolithic times.

The Encyclopedia of Medieval Ireland explains their significance in a local context: “An enigmatic feature of many ecclesiastical sites is a bullaun stone. Usually either sandstone or granite, these large or small boulders have a ground-out hollow or hollows.

“There is great uncertainty as to how or why these hollows or basins were formed. Theories vary between practical uses such as grinding grain or metal ore with smaller stones or pestles to ritual or devotional use of turning stones within the hollows. There are a large number of bullans at certain sites such as Glendalough.”

Dungiven is yet another example of a town or village in Ireland where possibly pre-Christian tradition has survived to the modern era, with the many fluttering pieces of cloth at the wart well and rag tree evidence of the continuation of the pre-Reformation history of the Dungiven Priory and of Gaelic folk traditions.

The Priory itself is steeped in mystery, with local writer Jochen Lueg stating: “Considering how important this place must have once been for the area, it is surprising how little is known about Dungiven Priory. It is thought possible that there was a pre-Norman monastery here by 700 AD, but not much more is known about this.

“We do know however, that there was an Augustinian monastery on the site by 1200 AD. Tradition has it that it was founded by the O’Cahans though even this is doubtful. In the 13th century the chancel was added to the building.

“It is known that in 1397 the archbishop of Armagh visited Dungiven to re-consecrate the church. Apparently a blood-crime had been committed here - we have no more detail of the deed.

“For a while the place was famous for teaching, and students came from as far away as Scotland and France. In those days only the offspring of rich and important people received an eduction, which in this priory did not just involve academic subjects but also training in the use of weapons”

While surprisingly little may be known about the history of the Dungiven Priory, and even less about how the tradition surrounding the bullaun stone, wart well and rag tree found on the path to the Priory, the tradition of curing warts is well established and well known locally, even now.

It is still unclear however, how the restorative powers contained in the water from the bullaun stone will work if the symbolic rotting rag does not rot because it is made from a plastic material.