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Ritual site - holy well

Lady's Well

Holy well in Ballybroder, County Galway, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • 19th centuryIn the record
  • FolkloreNone recorded
  • PhotoWanted
Ballybroder (Bullaun Ed),Moyleen, Co. Galway53.21646, -8.52108
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Unofficial guide. Not the National Monuments Service, the OPW, Fáilte Ireland or the landowner. Disclaimer

At a glance

  • TypeRitual site - holy well
  • Date or period mentioned19th century
  • Recorded size1.7m E-W; 1.5m N-S; D 1m

What to look for

  • Offerings left
  • Cross or cross-slab

Picked out from the Archaeological Survey description below.

Can you visit?

  • No source says it is open to the public.Most monuments in Ireland stand on private farmland.
  • Ask the landowner before crossing fields, close gates, leave the stones as you find them.Visiting responsibly
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History and description

In a small cluster of trees to the W of a N-S running road. Named Lady’s Well on the 1838 and 1933 editions of the OS 6-inch maps.

Full archaeological record 179 words

In a small cluster of trees to the W of a N-S running road. Named Lady’s Well on the 1838 and 1933 editions of the OS 6-inch maps. Details from The Schools’ Collection (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4583352/4582158/4591454 last accessed 12 December 2022) indicate that the well was known locally as ‘Tobar Muire’ and that in the early 19th century people used to visit it to ‘perform and pray’ but by the 1930s this was no longer the case. Pieces of cloth were tied to bushes around the well and there was also a spring well beside it.

The well is roughly subcircular in plan (1.7m E-W; 1.5m N-S; D 1m) and is enclosed by a stone wall. A wooden cross is nailed to a tree adjacent to it. Above the cross, a small statuette of Our Lady and Child is covered with a metal lid. On inspection, fresh flowers had been placed beside the statuette, indicating that the well is still in use. The spring well to the E of it, and closer to the road, is of similar size and construction.

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Galway Archaeological Survey, UCG and Olive Alcock · Updated 19 December 2022. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

More holy wells nearby

Also recorded nearby

Named sites within 5 km with only a short entry in the Archaeological Survey.

  • Kilmeen Round TowerRound tower · Kilmeen · 2.0 km · official record
  • Tonaroasty CashelRingfort - cashel · Tonaroasty · 3.1 km · official record

    This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 9/1985).

  • St. Mary's PrioryReligious house - Carmelite friars · Loughrea · 3.7 km · official record
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      Around Lady's Well

      Other heritage nearby

      Recorded within 5 km

      Walks and trails

      • Slieve Aughty Trails - Sonnagh Old LoopWalking Trail · 7.3 km · nearest point 9.8 km
      • Slieve Aughty Trails - Gortnamanagh LoopWalking Trail · 6.5 km · nearest point 10.0 km
      • Slieve Aughty Trails - Old Curragh RoadWalking Trail · 1.3 km · nearest point 12 km

      Outdoors, towns and places to stay

      • Loughrea LakeBeaches · 4.4 km · Excellent Quality (2025)
      • Pollnaknockaun Wood Nature ReserveNature reserves · 19 km
      • LoughreaWalled towns · 3.8 km

      Other attractions nearby

      Excavations nearby

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