St Patricks Well

On a shelf towards the bottom of a S-facing slope overlooking a bog to the SE, and c. 20m N of church (RO021-022008-), which is on the other (S) side of the NE-SW Bellanagare to Castlerea road. A basin (diam. 0.3m; D 0.1m) of a double bullaun stone (RO021-022003-) serving as a holy well is set in the ground in an alcove (dims 0.5m x 0.5m; H 0.5-0.7m) at the centre of an overgrown penitential cairn (RO021-022004-) (dims c. 5.5m E-W; c. 4m N-S; H c. 1m). A roofless drystone-built passage (Wth 1m; H 0.8m) leads to the alcove from the W, and the bullaun stone has a second basin (diam. 0.45m; D 0.1m) partly hidden by the cairn. A stone penal-style cross (RO021-022013-) (H 0.48m; Span 0.2m; T 0.1m) is set on the cairn over the bullaun stone, and a rectangular slab (RO021-022014-) (dims 0.22m x 0.21m; T 0.06m) with crosses incised on both faces is nearby. At the W edge of the cairn is a hollow ash tree (RO021-022002-) known as St Patrick’s walking stick (Circumference: 6.7m). The rough-out of a millstone (RO021-022007-) (diam. 0.8m; T 0.2m) which has a central unfinished and flat-bottomed perforation (diam. 0.37m; D 0.05m) is nearby. This has sometimes been mistaken for another bullaun stone (RO021-022006-). Knox (1902c, 188-9) describes a building (RO021-022005-) on the N side of the cairn, which may have been a church (RO021-022008-) but which cannot be seen now. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revised upload: 3 July 2015

Linked to St Patrick, the well is traditionally associated with healing and protection, with pilgrims historically visiting to seek cures for ailments and to collect water for blessings. The site's location near a church and road suggests its longstanding role in local religious and communal practices.