What is recorded here

St. Dallans Well in County Kilkenny moved when the Flood family redirected its life force, leaving the old basin buried beside a square rath while an underground drain fed the new stone. People still argue whether August first or August third belongs to Dallan, a petty quarrel fit for a saint who refuses to stay in one place. The water flows through hidden channels because even holy things must adapt when human hands rearrange the world.

Indicated on the 1947 revision OS 6-inch map as 'St. Dallan's Well', this is the present location of the holy well which was originally c. 40m to the S (see KK023-053003-). According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 376), 'the well was removed to its present position by the Flood family. The old basin, however, remains uninjured, about 40 yds. to the north [actually to the S], beside the fosse of a small square rath [KK023-100----]. A drain conveys the water, underground, from the old well to the new one. A pattern was held at the well on the first Sunday of August, till the early part of the 19th century, but tradition says that the people attended it were divided as to whether the real pattern day, that is, the feast day of the saint, was the first day of August or the third'. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 17 August 2021

St. Dallan's Well is associated with St. Dallan, a 6th-century Irish poet and saint, known for his hymns and contributions to early Christian literature. 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 seasonal rituals.

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