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Ritual site

Ritual site, holy tree/bush

What is recorded here

Two whitethorn trees at St Bridget’s Well in County Leitrim wore rags each February, marking the saint’s feastday with visible prayer. They stand bare now inside a small beech plantation, stripped of their festive clothing but perhaps still holding the shape of that old devotion.
Two whitethorn trees at St Bridget’s Well (LE031-127001-) are known to have been festooned with rags around the time of the saint’s feastday (1st Feb.) in the past but they are now bare within a small beech plantation. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 14 September, 2015
Linked to St Bridget, the site is associated with healing and protective charms, with the tradition of hanging rags on the whitethorn trees as offerings for health and well-being, particularly around her feast day on 1st February. Such customs reflect broader Celtic and Christian syncretic practices connected to sacred trees and wells.

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Recorded monument

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