St. Catherines Well

St. Catherine's Well joins onto the N wall of St. Doolaghs Well (DU015-009004-), 30m N of St. Doolagh's Church (DU015-009001-) and graveyard (DU015-009006-). Comprises of an underground well enclosed by a rectangular vaulted building. Entrance in the E through a pointed arched doorway. The interior is lit by a double-light window in the N. The roof is pitched as is the gable over the E door (Anon. 1914, 268; Ó Danachair 1958, 76-7). Folklore collected in 1937 from Baldoyle Convent recorded the following details about St. Catherine's Well; 'At the time of Cromwell there was a Catholic Church called St Dolough's near Raheny, it was taken from the Catholics. There was also a monastery where monks lived; they were banished out of it. They came to a place called Balgriffin Park and built a Catholic Church. One night a well was formed by a miracle. Some holy person appeared to one of the monks and told him that the well should be called Saint Catherine's well. The well is in the shape of a square. There are three windows in the wall which surrounds it one at each side and one in the back; in the middle of the square there is a cement hole in the shape of a boiler. This contains the water. There are a couple of steps going down into the well, and the people can go round the well by walking on the stone because it is a couple of feet wide. Many a person with sore eyes was cured by the water of the well. There is also a place in the field which is called Saint Patrick's bed; at certain times of the year water comes into it, beside the well there is a bush or tree' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0792, Pages 136-7; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4498789/4385667). Folklore collected from Kinsealy School recorded that; 'St Catherine's well is situated on the towns-land of St Dolough's. It lies about one hundred off the Malahide road. It is quite convenient to the church and graveyard. To approach the well one has to go down a number of steps on the wall. And when he arrives he finds himself in a stone roofed building. On the south side he sees a crude alter where the priests used to say mass in the penal when they were forbidden by the law to do so. It is well worth a visit to this historic place as there is another well close at hand called St. Dolough's well and the church also has its history as it is of roof to. St. Catherine's well at the present time it is filled with water, which was used for given cattle drinks but in summer time one can reach the inside without difficulties. Their is a cure for sore eyes in the water of one of the wells' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0792, Page 206; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4498820/4385746/4498823). According to folklore collected from Kinsealy School; 'the Fagans a very old family. One of them erected St. Catherine's well which stands about fifty yards from St. Dolough's church. The well is about five feet under the ground surrounded by a wall. Fagans name is on a stone ornament in the well' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0792, Page 219;https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4498820/4385760/4510836). Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 17 April 2023

St. Catherine's Well is associated with the veneration of Saint Catherine, a Christian martyr traditionally linked to Alexandria, and is believed to have been a site of pilgrimage and healing. The well's proximity to St. Doolagh's Church and graveyard suggests a historical connection to local Christian devotion and possibly the use of the water for ritual purification or cure of ailments.