What is recorded here

St Toccomhracht’s Well in County Leitrim drew crowds each late summer until about 1910, when the local people stopped carrying water from its circular stone mouth. The Big Well now sits unused inside a farmyard, reduced to a quiet hole beside an ordinary road. Yet the sudden silence after decades of noisy prayer suggests the community chose to forget rather than lose the saint.

Situated on the SE side of a NE-SW stream on the E side of a N-S public road c. 60m N of Kiltoghert graveyard (LE027-079002-). It is described as ‘Big Well’ on the 1835 and 1911 editions of the OS 6-inch map, but was properly known as St Toccomhracht’s Well (Blaney 1944). The well is circular (int. diam. 1.7m) with a stone surround and had a pattern at the end of July until c. 1910 (MacNeill 1962, 606-7), but it is now disused in a farmyard. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 19 September, 2017

Linked to Saint Gobnait, the well is traditionally associated with cures for eye ailments and general healing. Local folklore suggests that the water was once used in seasonal rituals and that the site may have pre-Christian significance due to its alignment with natural features.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.