Tobermurry, Shandrum, Co. Clare

That is roughly what happened to a small natural pool in County Clare, which appears on Ordnance Survey maps in Gothic script as Tobermurry, a name derived from the Irish Tobar Muire, meaning the Well of Mary. Gothic script on OS maps was the conventional way of marking features considered ancient or sacred, and the designation suggests that at some point this was regarded as a holy well, one of the thousands of springs and pools across Ireland traditionally associated with a saint or the Virgin Mary, sometimes used for cures and pattern days. By the time anyone came to look closely, the well had become simply a pool.