St. Imocks Well

Located on a level landscape with a small NE-SW stream c. 10m to the W. According to John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 the pattern was held annually at this well on the 10th of December until c. 1800 (O’Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 88). The name ‘St. Imock’s Well’ or Shemoge’ is derived from St. Díomán of Clonkeen, Co. Limerick (LI014-007001-), who was an anchorite of the Céili Dé. His death is recorded in 811 and his feast was celebrated on the 10th of December (Ó Riain 2011, 266-7). The well is now a sunken rectangular area (dims 0.48m x 0.35m; D 0.48m) fed by a pipe from the SE where there is a cistern beneath 2 concrete slabs within a rectangular concrete enclosure (ext. dims 2.3m NW-SE; 1.52m). There is no evidence of veneration. St. Imock’s church (WX046-029001-) is c. 375m to the N. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 16 August, 2013

St. Imocks Well is associated with a saint whose name may be a local or anglicized form of an early Christian holy person, and the site was historically marked by an annual pattern or festival on 10 December. The tradition at the well likely involved healing rituals or pilgrimages, as was common with many holy wells in Ireland, though specific cures or folklore linked to St. Imocks are not well documented.