St Brigid’s Well

St Brigid’s Well

St Brigid’s Well

Ardsallagh, Meath

The well “is located to the south of the house, not far from the River Boyne. The parish is dedicated to St Brigid” (French 2012: 26). Additionally, Sir William Wilde wrote of St Brigid’s Well in 1849 that "Although a modern cut stone pointed arch has by some tasteless architect been thrown over it, still the thorns and elders that overhang its pure waters, the mullen, the ground ivy and the wild geranium that droop and festoon the adjoining bank and the old carved head of St Brigid, with its plaited hair and prim formal features – the very impression of a mother abbess – all combine to render this once celebrated spot a pleasing picture” (French 2012: 26).

French notes that “the pattern day is the first of February” (French 2012: 26).

“St Finian of Clonard established a monastery at Ardsallagh and he is said to have been visited by his old teacher, St Brigid. According to another tradition St Brigid was a dairymaid for the local landowner and she is said to have kept butter cool in the well. She allowed poor people to come to the well and take any butter they needed. The landowner was annoyed at this practice and he went to the well to examine how much butter he had lost but discovered, to his surprise, that the firkin was still full to the brim” (French 2012: 26).

“A statue of Our Lady was added, probably by Mrs. McCann of Ardsallagh House, in the early part of the twentieth century. This statue was damaged in recent years by a falling tree and is being restored. The well and grotto are still well kept and St Brigid’s Well is a protected structure under the County Development Plan. Bernadette Murray has written a detailed account of Ardsallagh townland” (French 2012: 26).

Thunder, John M. “The Holy Wells of Meath.” The Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archaeological Association of Ireland. Oct 1886-Jan 1887, pp 655-658.

French, Noel. 2012. Meath Holy Wells. Trim: Trim Heritage Centre.