St. Finan's Well
Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ritual site - holy well

St. Finan's Well

Holy well in Tinnalintan, Co. Kilkenny.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • DateNot stated
  • Folklore1 quote
  • PhotoWikimedia Commons
Tinnalintan, Co. Kilkenny52.81938, -7.33324
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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

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 densely wooded copse c. 20m SE of Glashagal River. According to the OS Letters (1839) (O'Flanagan 1939, vol. 1, 26), at this well, dedicated to St Finan, 'a Patron was held some day in August till about thirty years ago'.

Full archaeological record 158 words

In a densely wooded copse c. 20m SE of Glashagal River. According to the OS Letters (1839) (O'Flanagan 1939, vol. 1, 26), at this well, dedicated to St Finan, 'a Patron was held some day in August till about thirty years ago'. It is described by Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 106) as, 'a fine spring, gushing forth from under an aged ash' and he relates that, 'Pilgrimages were made at the well, especially by persons afflicted with head-ache, till about 1835'. According to local tradition the well moved c. 70m to the SW when an overhanging ash tree was uprooted. This second spring is at present a muddy hollow covered in dense overgrowth, c. 0.8m below field level. The well itself, now dry, was the source of a stream which flowed N into the Glashagal River. The shallow channel created by this stream also serves as the W side of the fosse of an adjacent moated site (KK005-012002-).

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Jean Farrelly · Updated 26 April 2017. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

According to local tradition the well moved c. 70m to the SW when an overhanging ash tree was uprooted.
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

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      Around St. Finan's Well

      Other heritage nearby

      Recorded within 5 km

      Walks and trails

      • Durrow Leafy Long LoopWalking Trail · 20.1 km · nearest point 3.4 km
      • Durrow Leafy Loop ShortWalking Trail · 14.4 km · nearest point 3.5 km
      • North Kilkenny Cycle RouteRoad Cycling Trail · 80.5 km · nearest point 4.7 km

      Outdoors, towns and places to stay

      • Dunmore WoodForests · 5.6 km
      • CapponellanForests · 6.4 km
      • Grantstown Wood and Grantstown Lough Nature ReserveNature reserves · 13 km
      • Coolacurragh Wood Nature ReserveNature reserves · 13 km
      • Clomanatagh CastleHistoric stays · 15 km

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