The pool, known locally as Tobar Dhumha Mhoir, sits southwest of Cashel National School in Fanad, its waters feeding a small stream that flows southward past an old graveyard just 25 metres away. This proximity of holy well to burial ground is no coincidence; such pairings are common throughout Ireland, where the sacred landscapes of life and death have long been intertwined.

The well serves as a station for turas, the Irish tradition of pilgrimage rounds, with devotees visiting throughout the year to perform ritual circuits and prayers. According to ethnographer Énrí Ó Muirgheasa, who documented the site in 1936, the most popular times for these devotions are St. Patrick’s Day on 17th March and the Feast of the Assumption on 15th August, though pilgrims make their stations whenever the need arises. These pattern days, as they’re known locally, connect modern visitors to centuries of religious practice that blend pre-Christian water veneration with Catholic devotion.

Like many of Ireland’s estimated 3,000 holy wells, Turas Davaddog represents a continuous thread of spiritual practice stretching back through the centuries. The Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, compiled by Brian Lacey and his team in 1983, recognised the site’s importance as both a ritual location and a window into how communities have long sought healing, blessing, and connection through these sacred waters. The well remains active today, its quiet pool still reflecting the sky as it has for generations of faithful visitors.