St. Stephens Well

Described as St. Stephen’s Well in gothic script on the 1839 and 1940 eds of the OS 6-inch map, and the name is mentioned by John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 (O’Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 341). St. Stephen was one of the first converts made by the disciples after Pentecost. Being charged with blasphemy he was tried by the Sanhedrim, whom he condemned for having crucified Christ. The Sanhedrin were so outraged that they dispensed with the usual forms of justice and stoned Stephen to death, making him the first Christian martyr (Butler 1883, 182). The well was being visited on the 26th December into the 1940s (OSFM). It is situated on an E-facing slope at the lowest point of the ecclesiastical enclosure (WX029-013006-) and just inside its perimeter at SE. There is no other information about this well, and no trace of it remains. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 23 November, 2012 Amended: 4 April, 2014

St. Stephen’s Well is associated with St. Stephen, one of the first Christian martyrs, venerated in both Catholic and Anglican traditions. The well was likely a site of pilgrimage and healing rituals, common in early Christian Ireland, though specific cures or folklore linked to this well are not well documented.