What is recorded here

Merrigan's Well in Creevagh, County Offaly, is a hidden holy site identified during a 1987 survey of the Clonmacnoise area. The water chamber remains buried beneath the earth, denying modern eyes the chance to see its stones or touch its cold flow. People may have knelt at that invisible mouth for centuries, pouring prayers into darkness before the land swallowed the marker entirely.

Well known as 'Merrigan's Well' trackway identified in 1987 survey of the Clonmacnoise area as a holy well (McDonald 1987, 14). Not visible at ground level. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

Linked to local folklore surrounding Merrigan, a figure associated with healing and protection in Irish tradition; the well was likely used for ritual water offerings and curing practices, common at many early Christian and pre-Christian holy wells in Ireland.

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