Saint Augustine's Well
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Saint Augustine's Well, locally known as Abbey Well, is a holy well outside Callan Augustinian Friary in Callan, County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated at the southern end of the abbey site in what is now usually referred to as Abbey Meadow. It is recorded in the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP), with record number "KK026-010018-", and contains limestone gutter-spout which might have been part of the abbey.[1]
The well is a rectangular area of c. 1.2-3m surrounded by a wall with an opening to the south from where the water flows to join the King's River.[1] The holy well is part of the Callan Heritage Trail which was opened in May 2024.[2]
The Callan-born poet, John Locke, described the holy well in his poem The Old Abbey Well, published in Boston in 1885.[3] In the poem, he describes how "a drink from its depths [..] Would act on one's frame like a magical spell", and that "nothing in life so refreshing [..] As the water which shone in the old abbey well".[3]
The well mentioned in Bassett's 1884 Kilkenny City and County Guide and Directory[4] and O'Kelly's The Place-Names of County Kilkenny.[5][failed verification]
According to local folklore, the well's water was reputedly used a cure for swellings and strains.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "NMS mapping data - KK026-010018-" – via heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com.
KK026-010018- [..] Ritual site - holy well [..] The Augustinian friary (KK026-010016-) of Callan is located c. 60m to the N[orth]. Indicated on the 6-inch OS map as 'St. Augustine's Well'. It is a clear spring well surrounded by a stone wall [..] the water flows over a limestone gutter-spout (KK026-010019-) which may have come from the friary [..] The well water flows southward into the Kings River
- ^ Moloughney, Sian (2024-05-31). "Callan heritage trail records the town's past". www.kilkennypeople.ie. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ a b "Pilot, Volume 48, Number 3 — 17 January 1885 — Boston College Newspapers". newspapers.bc.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ Bassett, George (2001). Facsimile Edition of Kilkenny City and County Guide and Directory. Kilkenny. p. 165.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ O'Kelly, Owen (1985). The Place-Names of County Kilkenny (PDF) (2 ed.). p. 177.
- ^ "Holy Wells · Scoil na mBráthar, Calainn · The Schools' Collection". dúchas.ie. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ Ó Dálaigh, Pádraig (2018). The holy wells of County Kilkenny in terms of documentary coverage, location, ritual practice and onomastic concept, vol. II (Thesis). Limerick. p. 109.
External links
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