What is recorded here

Kilbarron holds St. Barron's Holy Well, a rag well now dried and disused near the old chapel and monastery ruins. People once tied cloth to its edge or dropped it into the water, asking the saint for help with illness or loss. The well stopped flowing, but the red and blue ribbons still mark the place where human desperation touched the earth.

A former 'rag well', now dried up and disused. Recorded in 1936 as "St. Barron's Holy Well at Ballyshannon is situate near the railway some short distance from the old chapel and ruins of St. Barron's Monastery' (Ó Muirgheasa 1936, 145). (Ó Muirgheasa No. 8) The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Compiled by Caimin O'Brien Date of upload / revision : 03 November 2011

Linked to St. Barron, the well was traditionally associated with healing and was a site where people left rags as offerings for cure or protection. The nearby ruins of St. Barron's Monastery suggest a long-standing religious and devotional history in the area.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.