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Ritual site - holy well

St. Werburgh's Well

Holy well in Crowscastle, County Dublin, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • DateNot stated
  • Folklore3 quotes
  • PhotoWanted
Crowscastle, Co. Dublin53.44913, -6.21718
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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

Dedicated to St Werburgh, the natural spring well was overgrown, situated beside a stream which forms the townland boundary between Crowscastle and Barrysparks. There was a local tradition that its water cures sore eyes but by the 1950s was no longer venerated (Ó Danachair 1958, 81).

Full archaeological record 163 words

Dedicated to St Werburgh, the natural spring well was overgrown, situated beside a stream which forms the townland boundary between Crowscastle and Barrysparks. There was a local tradition that its water cures sore eyes but by the 1950s was no longer venerated (Ó Danachair 1958, 81). Holy well described in 1975 as; 'Small concrete enclosure now dry and full of brambles. It is beside a stream, which has partly eroded one corner of the foundations' (Henry A. Wheeler 08/10/1975, SMR File). Folklore collected from Swords School recorded that; 'There is another holy well about three miles from Swords near a place called Feltrim. This is known as St. Werburgh's well. It is supposed to cure people with pains' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0789, Page 152;https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428188/4384894/4510754). In March 2011 the well was cleared and reconstructed. The well was redug in a different position, plastic piping inserted and stone removed. It is now signposted with an inscribed stone and described as an 'oasis of transformation'.

References

  • Date of revised upload: 12 April 2023

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Geraldine Stout. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

There was a local tradition that its water cures sore eyes but by the 1950s was no longer venerated (Ó Danachair 1958, 81).
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact
Folklore collected from Swords School recorded that; 'There is another holy well about three miles from Swords near a place called Feltrim.
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact
It is supposed to cure people with pains' (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0789, Page 152;https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428188/4384894/4510754).
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

More holy wells nearby

Also recorded nearby

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

  • St. Werburgh's WellRitual site - holy well · Commons East · 0.5 km · official record

    Named on Duncan's map (1821) as 'St. Werburgh's Well'. There is however another St Werburgh's well to the southwest (DU011-045----). This well has been built over. No visible remains.

  • Lady WellRitual site - holy well · Cloghran (Coolock By.) · 2.1 km · official record

    In 1958 the well had dried up and showed only as a hollow in a field where it was marked by a whitethorn bush. The site is no longer venerated (Ó Danachair 1958, 77). Within a level field of pasture.

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