Location: Just next to the graveyard of St. Manchán’s is the entrance to the togher that leads to St. Mella’s. The holy well is along this route and hard to miss.
OS: N 17211 26945
Longitude: -7.7426115
Latitude: 53.292757
Description and History: This holy well has suffered the same fate as many holy wells in Ireland in that they have been heavily altered in modern times. While a lot of these ‘restorations’ are now a hundred years old, I feel they really rob the wells of their authenticity, and they become encased and boxed in my modern surrounds, often concrete. Their natural setting is surely what attracted people to these places in the first place. Nevertheless, this is a nice little well, and the surround is quite nice. Associated with St. Manchán, as is to be expected here, it was one of three holy wells originally at the site. Petrie recorded three wells which cured blindness, lameness, and chronic diseases and all were visited on the saint’s feast day of January 24th. This well is also claimed to be able to cure tooth and headaches as well as warts. I didn’t put this to the test. There is a hawthorne next to it, which has been there since at least the 1930s when it was recorded in the school’s folklore collection. Folklore says the tree was once cut down and regrew overnight. It serves as a rag tree, but unfortunately instead of been festooned with ribbons, there is all sorts of plastic and other non-biodegradable material tied to and scattered around the tree, resulting in what is essentially litter. There is also a very nice little bullaun stone next to the entrance to the well.
Difficulty: Walking is required down an uneven path, but it’s fairly easy.
Date of Visit: 1st May, 2026.
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| The rag tree. |
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| The bullaun stone. |
