Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a level landscape on the E shore of Lady’s Island Lough, with the lake’s edge c. 75m to the W. A well is marked on the 1839 and 1940 eds of the OS 6-inch map and described in gothic lettering on both as ‘Lady’s Well’. According to John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 it was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and was part of the pilgrimage (O’Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 299), and according to Mac Leighim (1920, 133-4), quoting an elderly resident, the pattern was held on the feast of the Assumption, August 15, and the pilgrimage route ended at the well. The well was described as being coffin-shaped, but it is now rectangular (dims 1.2m N-S; 1.1m E-W; D 0.1m) with a small shelf at the SW angle for offerings. A concrete wall (Wth 0.2m; H 1.2m) surrounds it on three sides, but the E side is open with a turn-style gate and there are two steps leading down to the water. Archaeological monitoring (03E1956) c. 100m to the NE failed to recover any related features (Purcell 2006, 2007).

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 25 March, 2014

References

Purcell, J. 2007 Eardownes Great. No archaeological significance. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2004: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 466, No. 1801. Dublin, Wordwell

Purcell, J. 2006 Eardownes Great. No archaeological significance. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2003: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 532, No. 2016. Bray, Wordwell

Mac Leighim 1920 A survey of the ancient things in Lady's Island district. The Past, Vol. 1, 133-40.