Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

At the base of a low E-facing rock ledge in a hazel thicket. Named ‘St Patrick’s Well’ on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map, and ‘Bullán Phádraic’ on Robinson’s (1977) map. Listed as ‘Bullaun stone’ in the RMP (1996) – and also listed there under another number (CL010-108006-). This holy well is in an irregular-shaped natural bedrock hollow (0.8m E-W; 0.2m N-S; D 0.2m) which is only partly visible. Westropp (1902, 190) considered this holy well to be a bullaun which was used as a holy well. There may have been a local belief that the water from this holy well cured leprosy (the townland name possibly deriving from Poll na Lobhar, ‘Leper’s Pool/Hole’) (Swinfen 1992, 140). During an inspection in 1999 votive offerings at the holy well included money, glass, a candle and a statue of Mary. There are two other small hollows in the rock on either side of the well. To the E is a large ash tree within an oval enclosure defined by a drystone wall. This may be the same tree described as blessed in a National Folklore Collection record dating to the 1930s (Kirby 2021).

The following image has been uploaded:
CL010-108006-_01.jpg View of well from E

Reference:
Kirby, T. 2021 Bullán Phádraig, Saint Patrick's Well, Poulnalour. The Clare Holy Wells Project. Available @ Bullán Phádraig, Saint Patrick's Well, Poulnalour - County Clare Heritage Office

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 31 May 2023

References

Robinson, T. 1977 (revised 1999) The Burren: a two-inch map of the uplands of north-west Clare. Map scale 1:31680. Roundstone: Folding Landscapes.

Swinfen, A. 1992 Forgotten stones: Ancient church sites of the Burren and environs. Dublin. Lilliput Press.

Westropp, T.J. 1902 Bullaun-wells in Clare. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 32, 190.