Ladys Well

In a natural cleft in rock on a N-facing slope, at the E end of small yew grove enclosed by a stone wall (dims. c. 16m NE-SW; c. 7m NW-SE), in the grounds of Bayswell House. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 303), 'Up to sixty or seventy years ago this well was visited by crowds of pious pilgrims on the 29th of Sept. and the seven following days. The pilgrims always wound up their devotions with prayers before an effigy of the Crucifixion carved in stone, which had been fixed into the wall surrounding the well. The slab was broken several years ago, and its fragments have been lost, except one piece which Mr. Connell [the owner of Bayswell House] has reverently, but, by a misapprehension of the identity of the carving, mistakenly incorporated with an effigy, in cement, of St. Michael, which he has placed over the well'. The spring well is covered by modern brick structure with an 18th/19th-century pointed doorway of cut limestone. The largely reconstructed plaque (KK008-037001-), mentioned above, is incorporated in the stone walling surrounding the well structure and yew grove, SW of the well and depicts St. Michael flying the lands holding a flag and a book. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 11 September 2018

Linked to a local tradition of healing, Ladys Well is associated with the cult of an unnamed saint or local female figure, common in early Christian Ireland. The yew grove and enclosing stone wall suggest a long history of ritual use, possibly pre-dating Christian settlement.