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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ritual site - holy well

Kilfrush, County Limerick, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ritual site - holy well, Kilfrush, County Limerick, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Kilfrush
County
Limerick
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
St Bridgets Well
Latest-edition OS map
St Bridgets Well (1927)
Coordinates
52.45633, -8.42198
SMR number
LI040-034----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1882 · Ireland (southern half). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1904 · Sheet 13. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Ó Danachair (1955, 216) recorded the following details about the holy well; "St Bridget's Well" on 1840 map. Tradition in the district is unanimous in calling this "St Colman's Well" and not "St Bridget's Well". OSL gives "Tobar Colmain, S. Colman's Well", but OSNB gives "St Bridget's Holy Well". No second well is known in tradition. The well has a good spring of clear water. Formerly a large tree stood over the well, but this has been felled in recent years, and the water piped away to provide drinking water for cattle. All devotion has ceased, although the well was formerly very popular. The water cured eye ailments, and rags were left on the tree as offerings.
The Ordnance Survey Letters recorded that this well was 'called Tobar Cholmáin, Saint Colman's Well, which is frequented on Saturday evening, particularly by persons labouring under diseases that effect the eye. Two ash trees stand over it' (OSL Kilfrush Parish, 93).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 17 June 2019

References

Ó Danachair, C. 1955 The Holy Wells of County Limerick Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 85, 193-217

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
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