What is recorded here

Toberpatrick in County Cavan is a shallow oval well whose name has migrated a hundred metres southeast to a different spring, leaving the original hollow without ceremony near the bottom of a gentle rise. The incomplete western wall drains toward a nearby stream, suggesting the site was always as much practical as devotional, drawing water and meaning from the same landscape. Patterns for Saint Patrick once gathered there each March, but that rhythm lapsed before the flat stone slab covered the well in 1987, ending one kind of attention and beginning another.

Marked on all OS eds. Rectangular well (dims. 2m x 1m) enclosed by a stone wall. Stone steps lead down to the well from the adjacent roadway at S. Patterns are held here annually on March 17th (local information). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1995). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 December 2008

Linked to Saint Patrick, the well is associated with traditional celebrations held annually on March 17th, likely reflecting early Christian and pre-Christian springtime rituals. The rectangular structure and stone steps suggest a long history of veneration and use as a site of pilgrimage or local devotion.

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