That is the legend attached to Mary Magdalene's Well at Kilbane, County Limerick, where the tree said to have sprouted from that forgotten fork still shelters the well today, or at least was doing so when the folklorist Caoimhín Ó Danachair photographed the site in 1954. The well sits in a grove of whitethorn bushes, covered by a masonry cupola, a small domed stone canopy, which contains a niche housing a life-size statue of Mary Magdalene. Flowers and candles are left there, and the water was traditionally believed to cure ailments of the stomach.

The well was already named on the Ordnance Survey map of 1840, which gives some sense of how long it had been a recognised feature of the local landscape. Ó Danachair recorded his notes on the site in 1955, drawing on a tradition of devotion that was clearly well established by then. Earlier folklore collected from pupils at Monaleen National School, and now held in the Schools' Collection at the National Folklore Collection, UCD, adds further texture. Those schoolchildren recorded that the well lies near the River Groody, close to the remains of an old churchyard, and that rounds, the customary circuits of prayer made at holy wells, were still being performed on the 22nd of July, the feast day of Mary Magdalene. That combination of a saint's well, a ruined graveyard, and a living piece of legend rooted quite literally in the soil makes this a quietly layered place.

The well is located in Kilbane, near the Groody river, in County Limerick. The 22nd of July remains the day most associated with the site, when rounds would traditionally be made, so visiting around that date gives the fullest sense of how the place has been used across generations. The whitethorn grove and the cupola with its statue are the key things to look for on arrival. Photographs taken by Ó Danachair in 1954 are accessible through the Dúchas digital archive at duchas.ie, and give a useful impression of the well's appearance at mid-twentieth century. The nearby remains of the old churchyard are also worth seeking out, situated close by according to the same folklore sources.