St. James Well

St. James' Well in the parish of Kilgobbin is located in a flat area, which has been heavily landscape due to its location within Stepaside Golf Course. A cross stands beside the well (DU026-004004-) both of which stand on the townland boundary with Jamestown located immediately to the S. Jamestown House located 166m to the SW. This is a natural spring well, dried up which marked by a setting and granite boulders. It lies in the middle of an old laneway defined on either side by a boundary ditch. The holy well had its pattern day on May 1st, the feast day of St. James (Goodbody 1993, 10). Described by Ó Danachair (1958, 84) as 'a dry well faced with loose stones'. Holy well was described in 1957 as; 'the well of St. James', said to be connected ancient church of the same name nearby. On a piece raised above the level of the adjoining road was a part of an ancient roadway that led from the main Stepaside and Golden Ball, in the middle of which crypt lined with undressed boulders and partially small Leacs' (Daly 1957, 22). Compiled by: Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 21 April 2023

Linked to St. James, the well was traditionally visited for healing and protection, with local belief holding that the water was especially efficacious for curing eye ailments. The site's association with the saint reflects the broader Irish tradition of early Christian pilgrimage and holy well veneration.