Milstreet day 3: St Olan

Just back from an astonishly varied and fascinating three days in North Cork. We intended to do a bit of walking on the Paps of Anu, two sacred and yes, breast-shaped mountains, but the weather wasn't really good enough. Instead we've explored. We went along the road less travelled, knocked on many strangers' doors, had some wonderful encounters and heard some astonishing tales. We visited a tower house propped up by huge poles, full of children's toys;  tramped across fields to find stone circles, massive stones still standing;  explored old churches, ivy covered and silent;  and stood confounded in the mist at one of the first places in Ireland to have been populated, supposedly. We have taken in so many holy wells we must be cured by now of warts, headaches, men's illnesses, women's complaints and insanity! Well maybe not the last one. Really - it's all out there if you just go looking.

This is St Olan's well - now looking a bit parched inside but a hawthorn tree has exuberantly taken hold within. The huge stone is an ogham stone - it has carved writing down the edge.
A little further away in the old graveyard we found another ogham stone - smaller with a stone topknot or capeen (see extra). This stone has miraculous powers and originally the capeen was removeable and if you put it on your head you were cured of headaches (or flattened). The rather suggestive shape of the pillar later caused a lot of consternation and the capeen was removed. However, it found it's way back to the stone and is now firmly cemented on. St Olan's footprints can be found on another stone nearby.
Wrecked now!

Backlips:
Millstreet 1
Millstreet 2