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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ritual site - holy well

Loftushall, County Wexford, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ritual site - holy well, Loftushall, County Wexford, 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
Loftushall
County
Wexford
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Duffins Well
Latest-edition OS map
Duffins Well
Coordinates
52.14127, -6.92164
SMR number
WX054-005----

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)
  • 1869 · 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)

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

The National Monuments Service's description

A well is marked on the 1839 and 1925 eds of the OS 6-inch map and described in italic lettering on both as Duffins Well. It is located on the level, low-lying and narrow part (L c. 4.5km NE-SW; Wth c. 600m-1.5km NW-SE) of the Hook peninsula, with the E shore of the Barrow/Nore/Suir estuary c. 20m to the NW. Although not recorded by John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 this may be a holy well, the name being a corruption of Dubhán (Hore 1900-11, vol. 4, 359), the patron of the parish from whom the old name of the peninsula – Rinn Dubhán Ailithir (the point of Dubhán, pilgrim) – is derived (ibid. vol. 4, 392-3). This is a covered well with a pump. There is no evidence of, or record of, veneration. Hook church (WX054-009001-) is c. 850m to the SSW. (Redmond 1898, 29; Colfer 1978, 11; Culleton 1999, 129)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 31 March, 2014

References

Hore, P.H. 1900-1911 (Reprint 1979) History of the town and county of Wexford, 6 vols. Dublin. Published by arrangement with W.A. Hennessy Esq.

Redmond, G. O'Connell 1898 History and topography of the parish of Hook, Co. Wexford, Journal of the Waterford and South-east of Ireland Archaeological Society 4, 21-35, 96-104, 164-85, 220-27.

Colfer, B. 1978 The promontory of Hook. Wexford, Author

Culleton, E. 1999 Celtic and Early Christian Wexford. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1999.

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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