Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

At the base of a S-facing cliff 350m W of the Rathborney River. In 1839, O’Donovan and Curry recorded its dedication to St John (Comber, 1997).
A well-preserved holy well formed from a natural spring in a limestone channel (Wth 0.8m) enclosed by a subcircular drystone wall (1.6m N-S; 1.3m W-W; T 0.6m; int. H 0.5m; ext. H 0.9m). the spring flows under the enclosing wall and continues for c. 3m before emptying into a pond (diam. c. 7m) and down a sink hole. Outside of the enclosing wall, the channel is crossed by several longitudinally laid slabs and a tree grows out of the wall at E. When the flow is especially strong, the water overflows into a stream, that flows S and then NE to join with Rathborney River. An inspection in 1999 did not note any sign of veneration but it is known locally as a place of veneration.
An enclosure (CL005-014011-) is located c. 100m ESE.

Comber, M. (ed.) 1997 The antiquities of County Clare, John O’Donovan and Eugene Curry: Ordnance Survey Letters 1839. Ennis. Clasp Press.

Robinson, T. 1977 The Burren. A two-inch map of the uplands of North-West Clare. Map scale 1.31680. Roundstone. Folding Landscapes.

Westropp, T.J. 1901 Prehistoric remains in north-western Clare, part 2. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 31, 273-92.

Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Ros Ó Maoldúin

Date of upload: 29-July 2022