Holy well in Howth, County Dublin

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Holy well known locally as 'Our Lady's Spout', located near the base of the retaining wall of St Mary's Abbey abbey (DU015-029001-) graveyard (DU015-029006-). Described by Ó Danachair (1958, 77) as; The Holy Spout" or "The Eye Spout local. Not named on maps. A steady trickle of water issuing from a short length of three-inch iron pipe which projects at a height of about four feet from the retaining wall on the south side of Harbour Road, Howth, just outside Howth Abbey. It is said to come from a holy well, dedicated to Our Lady, in the abbey grounds, The water cures sore eyes'. Folklore collected in 1934 from Howth School recorded the following tradition about 'Our Lady's Spout' ; 'This is a small stream of water which runs through an iron spout, and comes under the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, Howth, on to the Harbour Road. The spout is about 5 feet from ground, there is only a small trickle of water, but it is held to be a cure for sore eyes, and the people still use it for that purpose' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0792, Page 3; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4498746/4385850/4498747?ChapterID=4498746).

From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record DU015-029002

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Photo credits

Gareth James, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
瑞丽江的河水, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dvcireland, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Christine Matthews, Geograph · Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
Maker not stated on source page, en.wikipedia.org
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Finnfrog99, Wikimedia Commons
Rossyxan, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Maker not stated on source page, www.tripadvisor.com.ph
Golfing in Ireland; photographer not stated, Source publisher

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