In County Kerry, Ireland, there is a holly well known as Tobar na nGealt, (Well of the mad), also known as the Gall's well, whose water can cure madness. The well is located in the Gleann-na-nGealt (Valley of the Mad), also known as "Gall's valley"...
According to a legend, the name "Gall's well" comes from the fact that Gall, the king of Ulster, was cured of madness when he drank from the well and ate the watercress growing in its waters...
For centuries, mentally ill people have travelled to the well in search of a cure, with some of the earliest written references to Tobar na nGealt dating back to the 16th century...
The chemical analysis of the well water has shown up high levels of lithium, which may in some way explain the supposed beneficial effects of the water...
Lithium is used as a psychiatric medication to treat bipolar disorder and treat major depressive disorder that does not improve following the use of antidepressants...
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