River Awbeg#Holy wells

The English name of the river derives from the Irish An Abha Bheag or An Abhainn Bheag, meaning 'small river' or 'little river'. Edmund Spenser, who lived at the nearby Kilcolman Castle, also reputedly referred to the Awbeg as "the gentle Mullagh" (or "Mulla").

There are two tributaries of the Awbeg. The first rises in County Limerick as the Gralgne River and enters County Cork a half mile north-east of Ardskeagh Cross Roads, then flows west under a railroad bridge and south under Farran bridge on the Buttevant/Charlevllle road.In this case, the source is not clear as to why Gralgne is referred to as a branch of Awbeg rather than its own river.

The second branch rises about two miles north of Liscarroll and flows south and then north and west under Annagh Bridge to join the first branch at Scart Bridge.

From there, the river flows south through Buttevant and east through Doneraile, turns south near Shanballymore and through Castletownroche to enter the Blackwater at Poulcormac near Bridgetown Abbey.

North of Buttevant the river flows through flat agricultural land, while south of Buttevant the river generally flows through a narrow, steep-sided valley with wooded sides. For the most part the river flows over Carboniferous limestone.{{cite web| url = http://www.npws.ie/en/Conservationsites/SpecialAreasofConservationSACs/SiteSynopsis/Cork/Name,923,en.html | work = National Parks & Wildlife Service |title = Special Areas of Conservation - Site Synopsis - Cork }}{{dead|date=August 2024}} The river supports a range of plant species including dropwort, pondweed, club-rush, water-cress and Ranunculus. The river is largely fringed by a narrow strip of marsh vegetation, dominated by reed-canary grass. The Awbeg is a breeding ground for otters and supports a significant population of Atlantic salmon. The site supports a population of white-clawed crayfish, a threatened species.{{citation |url = https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/conservation_objectives/CO002170.pdf | work = National Parks & Wildlife Service | title = Conservation Objectives Series - Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) SAC - 002170 | date = 2012 | page = 18 | accessdate = 16 August 2024 }}

File:Clapper Bridge 13th Century (geograph 2335893).jpg near Ballybeg Priory and Springfield House]]

An old stone bridge over the Awbeg River in Buttevant, known locally as Blake's Bridge,{{cite web|url =https://www.avondhublackwater.com/buttevant-bridge/ | website = avondhublackwater.com | title = Buttevant Bridge | accessdate = 16 August 2024 | quote = Blake’s Bridge, the old bridge over the Awbeg River in Buttevant, is a curiosity. Many years ago it was widened }}{{citation | url = https://www.corkcoco.ie/sites/default/files/2022-10/heritage_bridges_of_county_cork_2013_-_text_version.pdf | page = 31 | publisher = Cork County Council | title = Heritage Bridges of County Cork | quote = The low, hump-backed road bridge is known locally [Buttevant] as Blake's Bridge [..] The site is thought to be 13th century in date}} may date to the same period as the nearby 13th-century Augustinian abbey and Franciscan friary.{{cite web|url = https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/20803034/buttevant-old-bridge-lackaroe-buttevant-cork | publisher = National Inventory of Architectural Heritage | website = buildingsofireland.ie | title = Buttevant Old Bridge, Lackaroe, Buttevant, Cork | accessdate = 16 August 2024 }} It was widened at some point and extended in the mid-18th century.

The ancient clapper bridge near Ballybeg Priory was erected in the 13th century by the Augustinian friars of Ballybeg for convenience in crossing the Awbeg to their mill and lands beyond. It is constructed of large slabs of limestone that are about 3 m long, equally wide, and each weighing a ton. The transverse slabs measure 2.7 m to 3.0 m in length and are wide and thick in proportion and each weighs a tonne.{{fact|date=August 2024}}

{{Main|Holy well}}

There are a number of holy well sites on the river. These include a well on the grounds of Blackwater Castle, in Castlewidenham townland near Castletownroche, which is close to a former sheela na gig site.{{cite web|url = http://www.blackwatercastle.com/e/hist.html | title = Blackwater Castle | website = blackwatercastle.com |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20041231090710fw_/http://www.blackwatercastle.com/e/hist.html |archivedate=2004-12-31 | quote = On our premises [..] At the river Awbeg [..] we have a "holy well" [..] Next to the holy well an original "Sheila na gGioch" }}{{cite web|url = https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CCO026-086002- | title = NMS mapping data - CO026-086002- | via = heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com | quote = CO026-086002- : Sheela-na-gig : CASTLEWIDENHAM [..] Originally noted by Ordnance Survey [..] as lying beside holy well [..] recovered from bed of Awbeg River in 1934 where it had lain for a number of years, and placed near tower of [Blackwater] Castle}} Another such well, Knockanare Well in Knockanare townland, is on the left bank of the Awbeg river, about a half-mile east of Buttevant and southeast of the Ballyhoura Mountains.{{cite web|url = http://buttevant.ie/Knockanare-Well.html | website = buttevant.ie | title = Knockanare Well | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120507151548/http://buttevant.ie/Knockanare-Well.html | archivedate = 7 May 2012 }} Folklore attributes special powers to this well, such as that its water will not boil or that two trout appear in it at certain times of the year. Other tales suggest that, following a battle in the area, wounded soldiers were taken to Knockanare Well and cured instantly.{{cite web|url = https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CCO017-063----| title = NMS mapping data - CO017-063---- | via = heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com | quote = CO017-063---- [..] Ritual site - holy well : KNOCKANARE (Orrery and Kilmore By.) [..] Not marked on 1842 and 1906 OS 6-inch maps. On N bank of Awbeg River [..] Site inaccessible owing to dense overgrowth [..] after a battle 'about the time of the Christian era the Druids of the Irish army immersed the wounded and washed their wounds in its waters which had such a miraculous effect that they were in perfect health the next day }} An earlier mythological story also refers to miraculous cures and recounts how one of Fionn Mac Cumhail's men, who was mortally wounded after eloping with a local chieftain's daughter, was cured after bathing in the well.{{cite web|url = https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4921824/4909456/5184310 | work = Dúchas School's Collection | publisher = National Folklore Collection | title = School - Baile Tighe Dhomhnaill, Malla (roll number 12447) - Knockanare Well | accessdate = 16 August 2024 }}

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Awbeg