Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated at the bottom of a NW-facing slope with a NE-SW stream c. 150m to the NW. It was first recorded in an Environmental Impact Statement for the M11 road scheme (Scott-Cawley 2009, section 15, 24). It is called St. Maunyeen’s well, or St. Maureen’s well. There was a cure for warts at the well but there is no local knowledge of a pattern. The local folklore relates that this assistant to St. Patrick was sent into Ferns but was chased by King Dunlang. When he reached Mountgeorge he struck his thorn staff into the ground and slept. In the morning a well had sprung up and his staff had turned into a tree. The name of the well is probably derived from St. Odhrán (Pers. Comm. Conchubhar Ó Crualaoigh), who was the charioteer of St. Patrick. In one story St. Patrick changed places with Odhrán when they were near Geashill, Co. Offaly, and Odhrán was then killed by a spear intended for Patrick (Ó Riain 2011, 518).

The well is a natural spring that emerges beneath the drystone-built wall (Wth 0.5-0.9m; int. H 0.8m at SE to 0.3m at W; ext. H 0.1m at SE to 0.9m at NW) of a subcircular enclosure (int. dims 3.7m NW-SE; 2.9m NE-SW) at SE. The wall of the enclosure was only built WSW-N-SE, the perimeter being replaced by the roots of an ash tree combined with a hawthorn where offerings were attached until visits to the well ceased in the 1980s. There is a bullaun stone (visible dims 0.75m NE-SW; 0.5m NW-SE) with a single basin (diam. 0.34m; D 0.08m) partly buried inside the enclosure at NE and partly hidden beneath the enclosure wall.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 26 November, 2013

References

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Cawson-Scott 2009 M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. Environmental Impact Statement. Unpublished report, National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.