St. Cavans Well

In the centre of an enclosure (GA061-023003-). This is a National Monument in State care (No. 467; see Harbison 1975, 100). It comprises a spring well contained within a small oval drystone surround (NW-SE 1.8m) accessed via a narrow gap at W. The present enclosing wall appears to overlie an older structure, the foundations of which extend beyond it from NNW through N to E. A crucifixion plaque (GA061-023002-), of 18th/early 19th-century date (pers. comm. J. Higgins), rests against the NE side-wall. O'Donovan records that St Cuan (d. 752) was held in great veneration in the mid-19th century in the area of Ahascragh (AFM, iii, 487, note v). A pattern was held there on the 15th October (St Cuan's feastday) annually and it was said that the water could not be boiled (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0044, Page 0099-0100. © National Folklore Collection, UCD; accessed at https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4583282/4576252, 28 September 2017). Egan (1960, 8) mentions a 'Tobar Grealláin' as being close by but no trace could be found when the area was visited in 1984. St Grellan was, however, associated with the medieval church (GA074-058----) at Kilcloony. (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 116) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999, No. 3525). Revised by: Paul Walsh Date of revision: 28 September 2017 The monument was taken into Ownership under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 467.

Linked to St. Cavans, an early Irish saint traditionally associated with healing and water cures. The well's enclosure and status as a National Monument suggest its long-standing religious and cultural significance in the local landscape.