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

St. Nicholas's Well (Killamery)

Tobar San Nioclais

Holy well in Killamery, Co. Kilkenny.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • 7th centuryIn the record
  • FolkloreNone recorded
  • PhotoWikimedia Commons
Killamery, Co. Kilkenny52.47526, -7.44601
Directions Map

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 mentioned7th century
  • Condition (as surveyed)Ruined

What to look for

  • Bullaun stone
  • 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 the small valley between the two hills, the whole being encompassed by Killamery graveyard (KK030-008010-). The holy well is 13m S of the high cross (KK030-008004-) and c. 50m NW of the ruined medieval church (KK030-008003-).

Full archaeological record 199 words

In the small valley between the two hills, the whole being encompassed by Killamery graveyard (KK030-008010-). The holy well is 13m S of the high cross (KK030-008004-) and c. 50m NW of the ruined medieval church (KK030-008003-). It is dedicated to St Nicholas whose feast day is celebrated on the 6th of December, the same date as the feast day of St Gobán Fionn who is attributed with founding a monastery here early in the 7th century (Carrigan 1905, vol. 4, 311-2). Of the monastic site only a high cross (KK030-008004-), two cross-slabs (KK030-008005-; KK030-008011-), a stone cross (KK030-008013-), the remains of a church (KK030-008003-) and two bullaun stones (KK030-008006-; KK030-008008-) are currently visible within the graveyard.

The holy well (dims. 0.96m N-S; 0.66m E-W; D of water 0.2m) is defined by boulders, with a large round-topped upright boulder (H 1.2m; Wth 1.05m; T 0.53m) dominating the E side, which has been carved on the W face, forming a projecting triangular pediment over the carved rectangular entrance (Wth 0.53m; H 0.4m; D 0.34m) to the spring. According to Carrigan (ibid., 315), the pediment represents the hill of Calvary and was, or was intended to be, surmounted by a cross.

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Jean Farrelly · Updated 2 August 2017. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

More holy wells nearby

Also recorded nearby

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

  • TobernagloghlinRitual site - holy well · Kiltrassy · 4.6 km · official record
  • Church WellRitual site - holy well · Oldcastle Lower · 4.7 km · official record
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      Around St. Nicholas's Well (Killamery)

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