Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Ritual site - holy well
Inis Ní, County Galway, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Inis Ní
- County
- Galway
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- St. Brendans Holy Well
- Latest-edition OS map
- St. Brendans Holy Well
- Coordinates
- 53.41633, -9.90158
- SMR number
- GA050-010001-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1753 "Mappa geographica Regni Hiberniae" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Just above HWM on N shore of the island. The well (GA050-010001-) and the 'Monument' (GA050-010003-) indicated on OS 6-inch maps as being dedicated to St Brendan are locally associated with St Columcille and visited on his day (pers. comm. T. Robinson). The well consists of a small smooth rounded pothole (D c. 0.3m) on a flat rock outcrop. A semicircular drystone cairn (GA050-010002-) (D 1.2m, H 1.2m) has been built around its S side. Circa 1m SE is the 'Monument': this is a similar cairn, D-shaped in plan (D 1.2m, H 1.45m). Coins and the remains of flowers are visible amongst the stones of both cairns. The well known locally as St Brendan's Well (GA050-010004-) lies 50m to W just below HWM, and consists of a natural pothole (D 0.4m) with an irregular cairn (GA050-010005-) (H 1.2m) above it (info. T. Robinson). Noted by O'Flaherty in 1684 as a 'place in memory of St. Brendan' (Hardiman 1846, 104). (Killanin 1954, 101; Killanin and Duignan 1967, 418)
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993).
Date of upload: 05 August 2010
Nearby in the register
- Cairn - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
- Cairn - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
- Ritual site - holy wellunder 1 mi
- Cairn - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.