St. Ailbes Well

In the NE quadrant of the graveyard. This is traditionally known as St. Ailbe's well. The circular well is now covered in mass concrete, 0.4m above the ground and 1.92m in diameter. There is a square aperture in the concrete, 0.28m wide, which gives very limited access to the well water. Originally the well was a circular well (int. diam. 1.2m; D 5.2m) with dry stone walling on top of which was placed a cut stone limestone surround of 19th century date. According to the OS Letters(O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 40) the stone shaft of the wall is c. 7m deep. Traditionally this holy well was visited on the feast day of St. Ailbe, the 12th of September. In 1898 the well was still being used to supply the village with water (Long 1898, 173-4). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 May 2014

St. Ailbe's Well is associated with St. Ailbe, an early Irish Christian saint and founder of the monastery at Emly in the 6th century. The well was traditionally visited for its healing properties, particularly for ailments of the eyes and skin, and was likely a site of pilgrimage and ritual washing.