Toberfinane

In wet pasture, in the S corner of a field and c. 100m SE of Achonry cathedral (SL032-188002-) and graveyard (SL032-188003-). The well consists of an oval pit (0.8m NW-SE; 1.3m NE-SW) enclosed by a partially collapsed moss and sod-covered stone wall (Wth 0.8m; int. H 0.8m; ext. H 0.3m). Along the E-SW arc, where the well abuts the N side of a penitential cairn (SL032-188007-), the wall forms a stone facing (H 0.3m) against the base of the cairn. According to local information in 2002, the traditional 'pattern' day is still observed and is held on August 15th. O'Rorke (1878, 417) noted that 'patterns' were held on Saturday with as many as 'two or three hundred present on the Saturday that immediately preceded the 15th of August'. The well is named after St Finian of Clonard who with St Nathy is said to have founded a monastery here (ITA). 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). Date of upload: 18 January 2008

Linked to St. Finane, an early Irish saint associated with Achonry, the well is traditionally visited for its healing properties, particularly for eye ailments. The site's enclosure and location near the cathedral suggest its long-standing religious and communal significance in the region.