What is recorded here

St. Benans Well at Kilbenan in County Galway is a ruined holy well beside an old church. People walked there on the last Sunday of July for a famous patrún, filling the place with prayer, music and shared life. A parish priest later banned the gathering because he suspected pagan habits, and the well fell quiet. Its broken stone wall still marks the spot where human joy outgrew official permission.

Part of the early ecclesiastical remains (GA029-017004-) at Kilbenan; it lies 110m NW of the church (GA029-017002-). A poorly preserved holy well enclosed by a rectangular mortared stone wall (WNW-ESE 2.8m, NNE-SSW 2.2m, H 1.2m) which has collapsed along W half. Entrance in SE wall. A famous 'patrún' was held here on the last Sunday of July until the early 19th C when the parish priest, 'scenting pagan practices', suppressed it (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 448). (Kelly 1901b, 381; O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 12, 91) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Linked to St. Benan, an early Irish saint associated with monastic foundations in the 6th century, the well was traditionally visited for its healing properties, particularly for skin ailments and general well-being. The site reflects the broader Celtic Christian tradition of holy wells as places of pilgrimage and spiritual healing.

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