3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is marked by a gate, which says "St James Well" above it. The well is a small rectangular pool lined with stones, and a more recently erected cross sits above it marking the well. Nearby there is a cross made of stones lying on the ground, and a headstone marks that the area is also a burial ground for babies and very young children.
4 Cure
People take a bottle of the water, including a small stone, from the well, and it is said that it will cure sores and pain if you rubbing or bathing sores with the water and/or stone.
5 Pattern day
Pilgrimage takes place on the 25th of July, at the well Rosary is recited and then a Benediction in honor of the Saint is given.
9 Publications
"The Schools' Collection" Volume 0659, Page 75-76: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5008811/4958185
Pictures by Jim Dempsey, "Megalithic Ireland, Muchgrange - St. James' Holy Well": http://www.megalithicireland.com/St%20James%27%20Well,%20Muchgrange.html
"The Holy Wells of County Louth" by Larry Conlon, page 342, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27729850?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Branigan records that the well “is located on Lilliput Lane, just off Boot Road in Clondalkin. It is situated in a large enclosure that is maintained in a very good order and includes a statue of the saint and highly festooned rag tree of ash…The stone structure around it dates from 1761, and the railings were donated by workers from the Clondalkin Paper Mills in 1940” (Branigan 2012: 84).
4 Cure
Cures disorders of the eyes.
5 Pattern day
1 February. Branigan notes that “three visits are required for it to be successful. The cure is particularly effective for young girls” (Branigan 2012: 84).
8 Stories
“It is believed that St Brighid baptised local Pagans at this well in the fifth century” (Branigan 2012: 84).
“It is traditionally believed that there is a cillín at this site, either in the raised grassy area behind the well chamber or on the green space to the immediate north-west” (Branigan 2012: 85).
9 Publications
Branigan, Gary. 2012. Ancient and Holy Wells of Ireland. Dublin: The History Press Ireland.
10 More
“Unfortunately, during road-widening operations in the 1990s, the source of the well was severed and it dried up for the first time. It was then connected to the mains water supply and it is this that flows at the site” (Branigan 2012: 85).
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
On a slope of Carnaween in the Bluestack Mountains, the well is near an ecclesiastical enclosure and a graveyard which was used as a cillín (for buying unbaptised infants) into the 1930s. The beautiful situation of the well makes it easy to understand why it was chosen by those wishing to seek a religious life apart from the world (a dísert, named for the desert abodes sought by early Christian hermits). The site also has an altar called a Mass Rock.
4 Cure
The well water is thought to have had many cures, but more notably, the soil of the vicinity was thought to rid rodents and other pests from one's home and fields if sprinkled there.
5 Pattern day
St Colmcille's day, the ninth of June, was the main visitation day on which pilgrims also climbed Carnaween (also associated with the saint). By the later twentieth century, visitation shifted to the first Sunday in June.
10 More
This site is actively being researched by Dr. Fiona Beglane of the Sligo Institute of Technology.