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Taken from Sacred Ireland – Cary Meehan "The Boyne is closely linked with the goddess Boand or Bó Fhinn, the White Cow Goddess who is part of the earliest Irish mythology. She is said to inhabit a sí or mound here where Newberry house now stands, at the source of the river Boyne. The well is described as having nine hazel trees overhanging it. When the nuts fell into the well, their magical properties went into the water. It was said that anyone drinking its water in June would become a poet. Boand was, among other things, the goddess of poetry. Carbury used to be known as 'Sidh Neachtain' which means 'the Fairy Mound of Neachtain'. Neachtain is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters as a Tuatha Dé Danann leader and king of Ireland for one year in 45AD. He is variously known as Neachtain or Nuadha and also as the magical figure Neachtain, the water god, whose task was to care for the well and make sure its power was not unleashed in a destructive way. There are a number of versions of the following story. Neachtain and Boand were married but she was never allowed to visit the sacred well with her husband. He and his brothers were the keepers of the well and even its location was kept a secret. They made regular visits there and on one occasion, overcome by curiosity, Boand followed them. Later she went back herl self and tasted the forbidden water which then rose up and overwhelmed her, flowing out to sea and forming the sacred waters of the river Boyne, a watery embodiment of her spirit as the goddess Boand."

Posted by bawn79 26th May 2006ce

Comments (1)
If you go past the main gates towards DERRINTURN you will go down a hill. There the wall used to be in bad repair ( 25 yrs ago ), you can access the property there and you will see a pond. That is I believe the spring. There used to be the remains of an inground pool there also. My mother once told me she used to go out there from Edenderry as a kid to swim. Hope that helps. p.s. I was always intrigued with Carbury castle as a kid. I used to go to church there every Sunday. I remember hearing as a kid there were supposed to be tunnels leading from Carbury castle to Edenderry castle and Carrig ( Carrick I forget,) castle. Also Holts house ( on the way to Edenderry ) was supposed to be built on one of these tunnels. Of course I always wanted to explore these. Again thats what I remember as a kid, but I did have quiet an imagination !!!!	Posted by pvd115 27th February 2012ce
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