Lady Well

Marked on the 1839 and 1924 eds of the OS 6-inch map and described in gothic lettering as Lady Well on both. It is situated on a slight W-facing slope and on the S side of a NE-SW road. According to John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 the site of Lady Well was c. 60 yards SW of the church site (WX034-039001-), but it had not been a place of pilgrimage for c. 40 years (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 357). There is no evidence of a well under a car-park associated with the R. C. church, but St. Bridget’s well (WX034-072----) is c. 90m to the SW, on the other side of a small NW-SE stream. Compiled by Michael Moore Date of upload: 14 September, 2012

Linked to a local tradition of healing, the Lady Well is believed to have been dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a common association for holy wells in Ireland. It was likely a site of pilgrimage and ritual washing for ailments, with such wells often retaining pre-Christian significance before being Christianized.