This was difficult to photograph as there was little natural light available.
The notices within the grounds and the tour guide, aimed at children, refer to the well as a wishing well but I am not convinced that it was ever a wishing well and as I have never seen any coins within the structure I suspect the most visitors are not convinced either.
St. Ann’s Well in Raheny, Dublin, Ireland was once a popular holy well, and gave its name (with a slightly different spelling) to the well-known St. Anne’s Park, the city’s second largest municipal park, home for many years to the Guinness family.
The well site has a protective hood of stones, and lies just beyond the old lake of the park, with its Roman temple, and below the Watchtower folly, near the main coastal entrance.
The well itself dried up in the 1950s, and although Dublin City Council made several attempts to relocate the source, it remains dry as of 2021. The site is still respected, and was visited in 2000 by a formal joint procession of worshippers from the Raheny parishes of the Roman Catholic Church and Church of Ireland. The site was cleaned of soil and vegetation by a specialist contractor in early 2018, the original well opening located, and a safety grille, also keeping leaves out, was fitted over the former outlet.
I had problems with my camera and after travelling all the way to check on this tree carving by Tommy Craggs all my photographs were blurred or not properly focused. I plan to revisit later in the month. In the meanwhile I will upload/publish of the carving while it was a work in progress back in April 2016.
[MONDAY JUNE 22 2020] Local representatives and Dublin’s lord mayor have condemned “an attack” on the Tree of Life sculpture beside St Anne’s Park in Raheny, which is believed to have taken place in the early hours of Monday morning. Gardaí say they are carrying out enquiries after the sculpture was set alight.
The tree carving in my photographs is located at the north east corner of St Anne’s Park, Raheny, where Clontarf Road and Watermill Road meet. It is a 10-metre tall Monterey cypress tree that was once dying. In 2018, Dublin City Council decided that the tree had to be taken down for safety reasons. However, before it was felled, artist Tommy Craggs was commissioned to carve a series of wildlife sculptures into the tree. The sculptures depict a variety of animals, including foxes, badgers, squirrels, and birds.
The tree carving has become known as the “Peace Tree” or the “Tree of Life.” It is a popular spot for locals and visitors alike, and it is a reminder of the power of art to transform even the most unlikely of materials.
Here are some additional details about the tree carving:
The project was funded by Dublin City Council and the Raheny Residents’ Association. Craggs worked on the tree for over two months, using a chainsaw and chisels. The sculptures are made from the tree’s own wood, and they are all different sizes. The tree carving was officially unveiled in December 2018.
Chainsaw sculptor Tommy Craggs recycles fallen trees or trees felled for tree management reasons. Some of his works can be purchased but others are permanent installations carved from stumps. Tommy’s work made the news in 2012 when members of the public reported that a “guerrilla sculptor” had carved three stumps in a forest in the UK. They were, in fact, commissioned sculptures created by Tommy Craggs.