St Mochuas Well

Described as 'St Mochua's Well' on the 1840 and 1927 eds of the OS 6-inch map. Situated at the bottom of a S-facing slope, and just on the N bank of the E-W Greagagh River, c. 2 km E of where it joins the N-S River Blackwater and c. 300m W of Clashmore church (WA037-008001-). The well is a circular drystone structure (int. diam. 1.5m) with a lintelled canopy and an opening (Wth 0.7m; H 1.1m) at N. There is no evidence of veneration but a pattern was held on February 10th, according to J. O'Donovan, writing c. 1840 (O'Flanagan 1929, 80). The well is within an oval enclosure (int. dims c. 29m N-S; 20m E-W) defined by a masonry wall (H 1.9-2.2m). Access is by a bridge over the stream to an E-W road just to the S, but at one time there was access at N through a brick doorway, now blocked, from Clashmore House that has disappeared without trace. There was also access to the enclosure through a gateway (Wth 2.7m) with masonry piers at E. O’Flanagan, M. (Compiler) (1929) Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Waterford collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. Typescript. Bray. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of Upload: 11 November 2011

St Mochua, also known as Mochua of Clashmore, was a 7th-century Irish saint associated with several holy sites in County Kerry, including this well. The well is traditionally linked to cures for eye ailments and is connected to local folklore involving St Mochua’s miracles and his role as a hermit and founder of monastic settlements in the region.