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Ritual site - holy well

Toberaraght

Holy well dedicated to Attracta in Kilturra, County Sligo, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • 19th-centuryIn the record
  • Folklore1 quote
  • PhotoWanted
Kilturra, Co. Sligo54.02694, -8.60435
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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

What to look for

  • Stone surround
  • 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 low-lying poorly drained pasture, on the W bank of a stream. A U-shaped hollow (1.6m NW-SE; 2m NE-SW), choked with grass and rushes, cut into the SE perimeter of a stepped barrow (SL038-120001-).

Full archaeological record 315 words

In low-lying poorly drained pasture, on the W bank of a stream. A U-shaped hollow (1.6m NW-SE; 2m NE-SW), choked with grass and rushes, cut into the SE perimeter of a stepped barrow (SL038-120001-). The hollow no longer holds water though its base is damp. A few stones protruding randomly from the edge of the hollow may be remnants of stone lining. At SE a short channel, now engulfed with irises, links the well with the adjacent stream. Mentioned as 'the well of St. Attracta' by Wood-Martin (1892, 371) who also noted that 'the "patron" held on the 11th of August at the well was abolished about the year 1776' following a faction fight at which a man was killed. He also noted that being on the borders of the county it was largely attended by Mayo and Roscommon people (ibid.). In 1942-4 it was noted that 'pilgrimages to this well have ceased and it is not now visited by anyone' (ITA) though according to local information, Mass was said here in 1990. In addition to 'stations' being performed at the well, they were also performed around a circle of hawthorn trees that grew around the adjacent barrow (Anon. 1998, no. 26). Arranged around the perimeter of the well are the following items:

(a) on the N side, a millstone (SL038-120005-)

(b) to the E of the millstone, a rectangular slab (Wth 0.42m; H 0.63m; T 0.12m) on which is carved, in relief, a cross with splayed ends. According to Wood-Martin (1892, 371), this was said to have been 'erected at the close of the last century by ''Bishop Phillips'' '.

(c) at SW, a cross-slab (SL038-120003-)

(d) at W, a 19th-century cut limestone slab (Wth 0.61m; H 0.81m; T 0.1m) which according to its inscription was erected in 1821 by John Ormsby Cooke Esq. to commemorate 'the coming of his grandfather to reside here'.

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Updated 18 January 2008 · Based on the Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

According to Wood-Martin (1892, 371), this was said to have been 'erected at the close of the last century by ''Bishop Phillips'' '.
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

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