St. Johns Well

Within a band of woodland, the River Nore flows N-S c. 160m to the E. Indicated as ‘St. John’s Well’ on the 1st (1839) ed. OS 6-inch map and the 1948-9 revision. It appears to be a spring well, with a stream running S from it for c. 140m before turning SE to flow into the River Nore. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 4, 12) the holy well is, ‘dedicated to St. John, from which the subdivision takes its name and which itself is an evidence of the connection of the Knights of St. John with the townland’. It is described by O’Kelly (1969, 164) as, St. John’s Well, John of Jerusalem, Order of the Knights Hospitallers’.   Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

St. John's Well is traditionally associated with St. John the Baptist and is linked to healing rituals, particularly for skin ailments and general well-being. The well's long-standing recognition on early Ordnance Survey maps suggests a continuity of local veneration and folklore surrounding the saint.