Last Sunday, Rosie and I went on a road trip. To drink some water. We drove to the Dingle Penninsula in County Kerry, to Glean na nGealt, translated as ‘Valley of the Mad’, to drink water from Tobar na nGealt, ‘Well of the Mad’.
You would have wanted to be a mad to do it, as it was a a cold and rainy January day. But any good road trip needs a destination. And some good music.
The well is famed in legend becasue of a belief that its waters contain curative healing powers for insanity
It is told, that Gall, who was king of Ulster was cured of madness when he drank from the well and ate the watercress growing in its waters. Ancient history also tells of “Bolcan” King of France who was also restored to full health when he drank from the well fleeing from the battle of Ventry harbour. The well is also linked to Merlin.
Is there any scientific basis for its ability to help restore calm and tranquility or is it a placebo effect?
Recent chemical analysis of the water found it contained elevated levels of Lithium!
Lithium is used in the treatment of bipolar disorder. So its possible, in the Middle Ages, people suffering from mental illness, were unknowingly receiving some benefit from this.
To help make up our own minds, we braved the elements and had a great adventure. We must have drunk 2 litres each and had to stop frequently on the drive back home as a result and were thoroughly hydrated.
I first heard of this famous well, in the Almanac of Ireland podcast of Manchan Magan.
I have become very interested in the mineral contents of ground water, as water is an incredible solvent and will dissolve whatever it finds present, good or bad, whether that’s arsenic or fluoride, or magnesium and calcium.
Most of what we write about Lithum these days at BlueTech Reserach is focused on the viability of Direct Lithium Extraction, DLE, from brines. Lithium has also long been held to have health benefits.
Back in the day, Coca Cola had cocaine from Coca leaves. And our other favourite soda. 7-Up, had, yes, you guessed it, Lithium! It was marketed as a great pick me up, if you had a hangover. They stopped added Lithium citrate in the 1920’s but its name is a clue to its legacy, as Lithium is No. 7 in the periodic table of the elements. (On hearing this, Jeff Guild suggested we write to RFJ Jr suggesting he replace Fluroide, with Lithium in our drinking water! Though he wants to decline attribution.
I am tracking the phenomenon of ‘Designer Water, and recently received a water filter Sküma® Water which not only purifies my water, it also adds in minerals and you can choose from various different options, if you want more magnesium for example, to help you sleep. So far so good, more on this later.
So Rosie and I came to the conclusion that drinking water directly from a well, just like Li An Phoa, Drinkable Rivers did in the Rupert River, is a very special experience and has its own unique benefits, not least of all the memories it creates.
