What is recorded here

Ladys Well is a holy well in County Cork, Ireland. It stands in boggy ground beside a farm track. People made rounds there on August 15th and through May. They left votive offerings and kept the local pattern. The well has an arched entrance and a sandstone surround. Quartz pebbles scatter around it. It is no longer used for holy purposes, but the stones and memory remain.

In boggy ground, at side of farm track. Power (1923, 204) describes 'rather elaborate holy well....elaborately arched over and tended with some care; it is entered by a doorway, 6 feet by 4 feet. Rounds are made on August 15th and all during May. The pattern also is still kept, and there are votive offerings of the usual kind'. Sandstone surround visible at NW side; heavily overgrown. Numerous quartz pebbles scattered about. No longer in holy use. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 Image provided by and copyright of Amanda Clarke 2016-2022 https://holywellscorkandkerry.com/

Linked to a local tradition of making rounds on August 1st, the well may have associations with a saintly or pre-Christian fertility rite. The structure's elaborate arch and maintained condition suggest a long-standing devotional or healing practice, though specific saints or cures are not recorded.

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