Shaughlins (sic) Well — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Shaughlins Well in County Kildare was a busy healing place where an iron hoop on a chain let people lower vessels into water that brought miraculous cures. The dry, rail-enclosed circle on a west-facing slope may still mark the spot where Maelsechlainn himself drank after drowning the Viking leader Tuirgeis, according to local tradition. What is certain is that the well gave life to a small south-flowing stream and remained notable enough to appear on the 1838 Ordnance Survey map.

Shown on the 1st ed. (1838) of the OS 6-inch map as the source of a small, S-flowing stream. According to the OSL (Herity 2002, 1-2), 'There is a well called Shaughlin's well … (which) was formerly frequented … and … many miraculous Cures effected. There was an iron hoop appended to a chain at it for the use of those who frequented it ...'. Fitzgerald (1903, 28) says the well was named in a County Dublin Exchequer Inquisition of 1557 as being 'in the possession of Thomas Luttrell, of Luttrellstown'. Jackson (1979-80, 159-60) records the local tradition of it being named after Maelsechlainn, the king who drowned the Viking leader Tuirgeis. On a W-facing slope in undulating tillage. The well is dry, its location defined by an overgrown circular area (diam. 5m) enclosed by iron railings. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

Linked to Saint Sion, the well was traditionally visited for its supposed healing properties, particularly for skin ailments. The site's early 19th-century map presence suggests a long-standing local reverence, though specific rituals or folklore connected to the well are not well documented.

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