Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

In low-lying poorly drained pasture, on the W bank of a stream. A U-shaped hollow (1.6m NW-SE; 2m NE-SW), choked with grass and rushes, cut into the SE perimeter of a stepped barrow (SL038-120001-). The hollow no longer holds water though its base is damp. A few stones protruding randomly from the edge of the hollow may be remnants of stone lining. At SE a short channel, now engulfed with irises, links the well with the adjacent stream. Mentioned as 'the well of St. Attracta' by Wood-Martin (1892, 371) who also noted that 'the "patron" held on the 11th of August at the well was abolished about the year 1776' following a faction fight at which a man was killed. He also noted that being on the borders of the county it was largely attended by Mayo and Roscommon people (ibid.). In 1942-4 it was noted that 'pilgrimages to this well have ceased and it is not now visited by anyone' (ITA) though according to local information, Mass was said here in 1990. In addition to 'stations' being performed at the well, they were also performed around a circle of hawthorn trees that grew around the adjacent barrow (Anon. 1998, no. 26). Arranged around the perimeter of the well are the following items:
(a) on the N side, a millstone (SL038-120005-)
(b) to the E of the millstone, a rectangular slab (Wth 0.42m; H 0.63m; T 0.12m) on which is carved, in relief, a cross with splayed ends. According to Wood-Martin (1892, 371), this was said to have been 'erected at the close of the last century by ''Bishop Phillips'' '.
(c) at SW, a cross-slab (SL038-120003-)
(d) at W, a 19th-century cut limestone slab (Wth 0.61m; H 0.81m; T 0.1m) which according to its inscription was erected in 1821 by John Ormsby Cooke Esq. to commemorate 'the coming of his grandfather to reside here'.

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