What is recorded here

Holy wells have marked Irish landscapes since before written memory, places where clean water rose close enough to touch and people returned with illness, gratitude or fear. In Portnascully, County Kilkenny, that old practice still has a name and a function: a ritual site where the living and dead both drank. The well does not need a date to be true. It needs only rain, stone and the certainty that water given back must be returned changed.

The Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) is in the process of providing information on all monuments on The Historic Environment Viewer (HEV). Currently the information for this record has not been uploaded. To access available information for research purposes please make an appointment in advance with the Archive Unit (open Fridays 10.00 am – 5.00 pm), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, The Custom House, Dublin 1 D01W6XO or email NMarchive@housing.gov.ie.

Linked to Saint Caimin, this holy well in Portnascully is traditionally associated with healing and is visited for cures related to skin ailments and general well-being. The site reflects a long-standing Christian and pre-Christian tradition of water worship in Ireland, with local folklore suggesting that the water was once used by Saint Caimin to heal the sick.

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