What is recorded here

St Fachtnas Well sits beside the Convent of Mercy gateway in Rosscarbery, a rectangular stone-lined depression waiting for water that no longer flows. It has stopped being holy, yet the shape remains sharp enough to hold a name and a memory. Fachtnas may have stood there in rain, marking the earth before anyone built a convent around the forgotten edge.

Roadside on N side of gateway into Convent of Mercy, Rosscarbery. Survives as rectangular depression lined with stone slabs and cement. No longer in holy use. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

St Fachtnas Well is associated with St Fachtnas, a 6th-century Irish saint and companion of St Finbarr of Cork, known for his ascetic life and healing miracles. The well was traditionally visited for its curative properties, particularly for eye ailments and general healing, and was once a site of pilgrimage and seasonal rituals.

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