What is recorded here

St. Columba's holy well in Carrickbaggot, County Louth, is a ritual site where local tradition claims a stone in the paddocks still bears the imprint of his knee. The water may have sustained devotion for centuries before drying up and disappearing under briars by 1967. What remains is a ghost of wetness, a field-marked absence where human hands once reached for grace.

The OS Letters refer to a well called 'St. Columba's in Carrickbaggot' (Stubbs 1908, 40). According to the IFC Schools Mss (vol. 673, 76) there is a stone in a field called the 'paddocks' which has an imprint of St. Columcille's knee on it. When inspected by ASI in 1967 the well was dried up and briars covered the site. Compiled by: Claire Breen Date of upload: 6 July 2012

Linked to St. Columba, the holy well and a nearby stone with an imprint are associated with early Christian tradition in the area. Local folklore may connect the site to healing or pilgrim practices, though specific cures or rituals are not well documented.

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