St. Annes Well — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Kilcorkey now covers the lost well, but beneath modern pavement and forgotten roads, clean water may still rise for Annes. The sea took the shore, people took the land back, and everyone assumed they understood the shape of the place. They did not.

At time of 1st ed. of OS 6-inch map this well lay just below HWM at Whitestrand, to S of Bóthar na Trá, on W outskirts of Galway city. Since then the area has been reclaimed and it is now within Kilcorkey townland. No visible surface trace survives (info. GBCAS Files). (O'Flanagan 1927a, Vol. 1, 345) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

St. Annes Well is associated with St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, and was historically visited for healing and protection, particularly by women seeking fertility or safe childbirth. The well's location near the coast and its survival through land reclamation reflect its enduring local significance in Galway’s folk religious traditions.

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