What is recorded here

St. Patricks Well is a five sided pool in County Louth where people still imagine Patrick himself knelt, planted his staff and left water behind. The field is called Tubberawuscanny, a name that sounds like it belongs to the well rather than the land. A flat slab nearby holds three hollows said to mark his foot, knee and staff point, though no one living can prove when those hollows first appeared. The well has no visible outlet, as if the water still belongs to whatever Patrick touched when he made it flow.

Marked on the 1835 and the 1938 'OS 6-inch' maps as 'St. Patrick's Well'. The OS Letters refer to a station being held here during the mid-nineteenth century (CLAJ 1929, 54, 57). Located in a field known as 'Tubberawuscanny' (MacIvor 1944, 329). When inspected by ASI in 1967 it was described as 'a five sided pool, enclosed by dry stone walling with 2 large lintels on top. Stream nearby but no outlet visible from well. A stump of old whitethorn bush grows over well'. Nearby is a rectangular thick slab with three depressions said to represent St. Patrick's left foot, right knee and the point of his staff (IFC Schools' Mss 668, 303). Compiled by: Claire Breen Date of upload: 20 June 2012

Linked to St. Patrick, the well is traditionally associated with healing and pilgrimage, common to many sites named in the saint's honour across Ireland. The holding of a station there in the 19th century suggests continued local reverence and ritual practice.

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