St Finans Well

St Finan's Well/Tobar Fhionáin: This subrectangular stone-lined well is located on the lower SE slopes of Knag, overlooking Lough Currane to S. It is capped with two lintels, over which a domed stone structure was erected around 1960. In a niche near the top of the dome, above the well-opening, is a cross-incised slab which measures 0.56m x 0.24m x 0.07m thick. A pattern was formerly held here on St Finan’s day, the 16th of March (OSNB Drummod, 9). The Pattern was described by Hayward (1987, 150) as follows; 'The pattern was one of three circuits and fifteen decades, and Patrick Carey told me that in his youth, hundreds of people would gather here, but that nowadays only a few older people make the circuits, and that on any Friday, Saturday or Sunday, against all ills or any sickness'. See attached photographs of St Finan's Well, Co. Kerry, taken 1946 by Caoimhín Ó Danachair courtesy of and © National Folklore Collection, UCD. The Photographic Collection, F025.18.00056/057/058 accessible online at https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbeg/16788; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbeg/24614; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbeg/24615. See attached colour photographs courtesy of Amanda Clarke. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1056. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 14 April 2022

St Finan's Well is associated with St Finan, an early Irish saint traditionally linked to the 7th century and known for his monastic foundations in the west of Ireland. The well was historically visited for its supposed healing properties, particularly for ailments of the eyes and skin, and may have been a site of pilgrimage and seasonal rituals.