What is recorded here

St. Fintans Well is a horseshoe-shaped holy well in County Laois, Ireland, marked by a missing cross pedestal and set beside the river Erkina. People may have drawn water there for healing or prayer, while the small strip of land between well and river became known as St. Fantan's Island. The marshy setting, stone wall and buried cross socket suggest a place kept alive through memory rather than grand display.

Reference to a holy well with a cross pedestal (LA029-043002-) at its head (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 212). Situated in a marshy area with river to the SW. A horseshoe-shaped area (Wth c. 3.5m) surrounded by a stone wall. Described by Carrigan as 'His holy well, called 'Fintan's Well' or rather 'Fantan's Well', is within Lord Ashbrook's demesne, at the distance of about 100 yards from Durrow bridge. At its head, firmly embedded in the earth, is the rough limestone pedestal of a small cross (LA029-043002-); the socket is 5 in. long, and about the same in width and depth. The cross itself has been long missing. The small inch lying between the holy well and the river Erkina is called St. 'Fantan's Island' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 212). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

St. Fintan's Well is associated with St. Fintan of Clonenagh, a 6th-century Irish monk and founder of several monastic sites in Leinster. Traditionally linked to healing and protection, such wells were often visited for their curative properties, with pilgrims collecting water for sick family members or to ward off illness.

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