The holy well of Tober na Congay contains an ash tree where people still tie tiny pieces of rags and pray to the saint for intercession. Pattern Sunday for Fore would have been celebrated at this Holy Well on January 20 or the nearest Sunday to that date.

Pattern Sunday in Fore

Published: Mon 20 Jan 2014, 2:10 PM

Last updated: Mon 20 Jan 2014, 2:11 PM

More than 130 people joined Bartle D’Arcy of Directing Tourism for a guided walk to mark Pattern Sunday in Fore yesterday afternoon.

In Medieval Christianity, Pattern Sunday was the celebration of the feast day of the area’s patron saint, in this case St Fechin, whose feast day falls on January 20.

As the Reformation and its forces swept through Ireland, such celebrations tended to be near holy wells associated with the saints. In some cases they replaced church worship because the churches were ruined and public worship for Catholics was forbidden.

In Fore, the holy well of Tober na Congay contains an ash tree where people still tie tiny pieces of rags and pray to the saint for intercession.

This holy well would have been a focus for pilgrims for many centuries and it is linked with two of the Seven Wonders of Fore associated with the saint and his life and monastery: it contains the water that does not boil and the tree that does not burn.

“As part of the walking tour we explored the seven wonders associated with this village and visitors also got to see the Iron Age fort that became the foundation for the Norman abbey and got to visit the anchorite’s cell and the Nugent Mausoleum,” said Bartle.

“We had such a broad range of people turn up for the walk. Some of the visitors drove all the way up from Dublin, others were people who were born and reared here but had never been inside the mausoleum.

“The weather was fine, dry and bright and it was incredible to see so many people turning out in January. I was pleased to see such a big turnout and look forward to bringing more visitors into Fore this year,” said Bartle D’Arcy.

Ruth McKeon from Collinstown brought along her children James, Dominic, Alan and Caoimhe and neighbour Halle Cahill: “We enjoyed a wonderful family afternoon walking in the footsteps of St Feichin and visiting the Seven Wonders of Fore, seeing a ring fort and a mausoleum.

"We all left knowing a little more about the area in which we live and what was there before us.”