St Johns Well

At the base of a S-facing cliff 350m W of the Rathborney River. In 1839, O’Donovan and Curry recorded its dedication to St John (Comber, 1997). A well-preserved holy well formed from a natural spring in a limestone channel (Wth 0.8m) enclosed by a subcircular drystone wall (1.6m N-S; 1.3m W-W; T 0.6m; int. H 0.5m; ext. H 0.9m). the spring flows under the enclosing wall and continues for c. 3m before emptying into a pond (diam. c. 7m) and down a sink hole. Outside of the enclosing wall, the channel is crossed by several longitudinally laid slabs and a tree grows out of the wall at E. When the flow is especially strong, the water overflows into a stream, that flows S and then NE to join with Rathborney River. An inspection in 1999 did not note any sign of veneration but it is known locally as a place of veneration. An enclosure (CL005-014011-) is located c. 100m ESE. Comber, M. (ed.) 1997 The antiquities of County Clare, John O’Donovan and Eugene Curry: Ordnance Survey Letters 1839. Ennis. Clasp Press. Robinson, T. 1977 The Burren. A two-inch map of the uplands of North-West Clare. Map scale 1.31680. Roundstone. Folding Landscapes. Westropp, T.J. 1901 Prehistoric remains in north-western Clare, part 2. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 31, 273-92. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Ros Ó Maoldúin Date of upload: 29-July 2022

Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the well is associated with traditional practices such as the collection of water on St John’s Eve (23 June) for protection and healing. Holy wells dedicated to St John were often linked to fire festivals and were believed to have curative properties, particularly for skin ailments and general well-being.