St Patricks Well

This is a natural spring enclosed within a railing and embellished with a monument to St Patrick, murals and a grotto. A stone-lined bath in the front may have been built in the 1760's when the well was developed as a spa (Daly 1957, 20; Ó Danachair 1958, 76). This was a station well according to the Ordnance Survey Name Books. The waters were thought to cure sore eyes and inveterate ulcers. Still venerated. Daly (1957, 20) recorded the following details about this well; 'Near Finglas village was another St. Patrick's well. A short time prior to 176o a stone arch was built over it, on account of cures which it had effected and for many years people visited there for the curing of sore eyes and inveterate ulcers. Patients applied rags dipped in the water to the affected part as well as drinking some of the water'. See attached photos (01/02) taken by Caoimhín Ó Danachair, courtesy of and © National Folklore Collection, UCD. The Photographic Collection, F024.06.00184 accessible online at https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbeg/30816 and F024.06.00183 accessible online at https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbeg/16670. Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 14 April 2023

Linked to St Patrick, the well is associated with traditional Catholic pilgrimage and healing practices. Its 18th-century development as a spa reflects both religious devotion and the 19th-century vogue for mineral springs in Ireland.