St. Patricks Well

In pasture, on a gentle N-facing slope c. 100m NW of a graveyard (SL046-026001-). This well is named ‘St. Patrick’s Well’ on the 1838 and 1914 OS 6-inch maps. Inspection was difficult due to dense overgrowth of hawthorn bushes and brambles, and it is now enclosed by a timber fence. It consists of a roughly circular straight-sided pit (diam. c. 2m; D c. 0.5m) with some stones protruding from the sides. The base of the pit holds a little water. According to local information, it was accessed on the SE side where the slope is gentle. There is a tradition that St Brigid knelt to pray here and her knee prints can still be seen on a stone at the well. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Revised upload: 21 May 2021

St. Patrick’s Well is traditionally associated with the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, and like many such wells, it was likely used for holy water and seasonal rituals. The well’s long-standing name on official maps suggests a continuity of local Christian and pre-Christian reverence for the site.