Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Ritual site - holy well
Ballybrennan, County Wexford, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Ballybrennan
- County
- Wexford
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- St. Cowans Well
- Latest-edition OS map
- St. Cowans Well
- Coordinates
- 52.43354, -6.64943
- SMR number
- WX031-008----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
University Library, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamUniversity Library, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Marked on the 1839 and 1925 eds of the OS 6-inch map and described as St. Cowan’s Well in both. It is situated in a small SE-NW valley with two streams that join together c. 10m to the W and join the W-E Boro River c. 270m to the NW at that river’s most southerly point. St. Cowan, or St. Cuán of Airbhre, now probably Kilcowan (WX046-042001-) in Bargy barony, is recorded in the life of St. Munna of Taghmon (Ó Riain 2011, 239). His pattern is recorded on the 6th July in the martyrologies, but was celebrated here at one time on the 3rd of February (Sheil 1921, 15).
The well is now a rectangular feature (dims. 1.1m NW-SE x 1.05m NE-SW; D 0.5m) set into the concrete apron surrounding a nearby Lourdes grotto. The well is partly set into the facing on the NW side of a road bridge over the SW stream. There is a round-headed alcove (Wth 0.19m; H 0.38m; D 0.29m) with some offerings in this wall above the well.
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload; 27 August, 2012
References
Sheil, Rev. P. 1920 Parish of Bree. The Past 1, 113-19.
Nearby in the register
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.