What is recorded here

Sunday's Well drew crowds of Irish worshippers along the south edge of Dublin City before the place disappeared from memory. Barnaby Rich visited in 1610 and mocked the flocking believers, claiming they would choose an alehouse over hearing a genuine saint speak. The well itself defied his contempt because it remained vital enough to fill streets with devoted people on summer Sundays.

The precise location of the holy well known in the early 17th century as 'Sunday's Well' on the S side of Dublin City has not been identified. In 1610 Barnaby Rich wrote the following about Sunday's Well on the S side of Dublin City; 'On the South side of the towne, they have St. Sundaies well: I cannot tell what countrey man St. Sunday was himselfe, but his well is of pretious estimation amongst the Irish (I meane) amongst the Popish sort of the Irish, that doe flocke thither so thicke upon sunday mornings, in the summer season, that I am sure, that if saint Sunday were there in person to read a Lecture out of the New Testament, they had rather go altogither to an alehouse then they would travell so farre to see him' (Rich 1610, 53). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 21 April 2023

Linked to Saint Brigid, the well was traditionally associated with healing and fertility, with pilgrims visiting to seek cures for barrenness and general infirmities. The name 'Sunday's Well' may reflect a custom of visiting the site on Sundays for ritual washing or prayer.

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