St. Mullins Well — St. Mullin's

The following description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Carlow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Now dry. With small circular chamber. Water passed into chamber via two holed slabs, below one of which is rectangular stone with circular basin (diam. 0.27m) (Bradley 1989, 61; JRSAI 1892, 384). Folklore collected in 1937 from Newtown School, Borris recorded the following tradition about this well; 'About one hundred and fifty years ago a man by the name of William Nood lived in Dublin he was a protestant One day as he was reading a story book he saw something about St Molings Well which is situated in St Mullins parish or about four miles from Graiguenamanagh. One day as he was talking to a man by the name of Maher and he told him about the blessed well in St Mullins. He asked Maher one day would he go with him to see the blessed well in St Mullins and he said he would. One day Nood and Maher started to St Mullins. It was a long time before they reached St Mullins. When the two men reached the well they stayed there for a long time. Mr Nood noticed after a while that the water was flowing in every first pipe and the protestant said if the water was flowing in every second pipe when he would come he would turn Catholic. When he came the second time the water was flowing in every second pipe and he turned Catholic This well is very good ever since' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0903, Pages 514-5; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5044662/5029898). A second story collected from the same school recalled a story about the origins of the well and the pattern; 'The two principal holy wells in the parish of St Mullins are St Moling's well and St Michael's well. St Moling's well is situated in St Mullins and St Michael's well is situated in Tinnaslee. St Moling made the well in St Mullins and when he was making it he said he would not taste a drop of the water until the well was completed. He kept his promise and he never tasted a drop of the water until the well was completed. It took St Moling eight years to complete the well. People from the parish of St Mullins visit this well on the Sunday before the twentyfifth and on the twentyfifth of July. In olden times people used to go to this well on the twentyfifth of July and take of their boots and stockings and walk against the stream. These people used to pray and walk on the thorns and everything in the stream in satisfaction to God for their sins. St Moling said if a man or a woman walked against the stream he or she would die a happy death. Three trout lived in this well and any person with any affected went to this well and walked against the stream was cured. Every person went to this well to be cured while the trout lived in it. One day a woman by the name of Mrs. Malone went out to the well for a bucket of water. She was going to boil a pot water. By some ill luck the woman captured one of the trout in the bucket. She put the water in the pot and blew the fan. She blew all the time until she was tired. She threw out the water and she put the trout back in the well again. The well went dry until the trout came to life again. No man or woman was after that. No man ever saw the trout after that. The most curious thing about this well was that it flowed in one spout one year and in an other spout the next year. The water changed from the spout it was flowing in and it never flowed in that spout after. No one ever had anything to do with the well when the water changed' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0903, Pages 511-13; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5044662/5029894). A story collected from Drummond School recorded the following about the pattern at this well; 'There is but one holy well St Moling's well in this parish. It got its name from St Moling. The 17th June is St Moling's day. It was the custom long ago to visit the well on that day and do the pilgrimage but very few people visit it on that day now. A man from Kilkenny who was blind of one eye came some day and washed his eye in the well. He was not cured. Some man told him to come again on St Moling's day and bathe his eye in it and he would be cured. He came again on that day and did as he was told and after three days his sight was restored. On the Pattern day in St Mullins many people drink the water. Some bring bottles home with them and any person who has any ailment and drinks it nine mornings and says some prayers may be cured' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0903, Pages 469-70; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5044661/5029853).