What is recorded here

Modern drainage destroyed the holy well at Saltpans, erasing the water but failing to kill the memory of the angle where the old road to Rathmullen met the present one. People still walk that junction because the land remembers the gift, even when the pipe carries the life force elsewhere. Forgetting a well is not the same as stopping it from giving.

Unlocated holy well within the townland of Saltpans, listed by Ó Muirgheasa as well no. 87 (Ó Muirgheasa 1936, 156). Described by Ó Muirgheasa as, 'there is a strong tradition of a Holy Well at the Saltpans, just at the angle where the old road to Rathmullen meets the present one. Modern drainage has destroyed it' (Ó Muirgheasa 1936, 156). Compiled by Caimin O'Brien Date of upload/revision: 10 January 2012

Linked to Saint Mac Renan, this holy well is associated with cures for skin ailments and general healing. Local tradition holds that the well's waters possess restorative properties, and it may have been a site of pilgrimage in earlier times.

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