What is recorded here

St. James Well, or Tobar San Séain, flows in rough pasture between the Kings River and the Callan-Kells road in County Kilkenny. It is one of the finest springs in the county, and locals once crowded around it on the last Sunday in July for pattern day pilgrimages. That loud human habit faded in the early twentieth century, leaving the water to keep its own quiet company beneath the grass.

In rough pasture, c. 20m S of Kings River and c. 15m N of the Callan-Kells road. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 323-4) this is, ‘one of the finest springs in Co. Kilkenny. A pattern, with the usual pilgrimages, was held here formerly’. O’Kelly (1969, 154) mentions that the pattern day of the well, known as ‘Tobar San Séain’ or ‘St. James’s Well’, was held on the last Sunday in July up until the early years of the twentieth century. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 May 2022

St. James Well on Mill Island is associated with St. James the Greater, a patron saint venerated in Ireland for his supposed healing powers. The well was historically linked to a pattern day, featuring pilgrimages and religious observances, as noted in early 20th-century accounts.

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