Dublin Core
Title
St. Brigid's Well
Description of Well Item Type Metadata
1 Name of well and saint
St Brigid’s Well
2 Townland, County, GPS
Enfield, Meath.
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
The well is located “at Johnstown House, Enfield. There was a Brigidine convent nearby in the early medieval times. The well is located in a small copse about 200 yards south of the house and not far from the Blackwater River. In the 1930s a description said it was a fine deep well containing the purest of spring water. It is partially covered over by a large flat stone. The flagstone was shattered in the 1950s when a tree fell on it. In 1969 a pump house was erected over the well and the water was used for domestic purposes” (French 2012: 29).
4 Cure
Cures sore feet and eyes.
5 Pattern day
There is a pattern to the well on St Brigid’s Day.
8 Stories
“The well provided water for the construction of the new hotel” (French 2012: 29).
“A school child in the 1930s recalled that an old resident said that she was often sent by her mother to the well for the soft white said to scour stools, chairs and other wooden furniture” (French 2012: 29).
“There is supposed to be a curse attached to the Johnstown House, namely that the owner never lives to see his eldest son come of age” (French 2012: 29-30).
“A school child in the 1930s recalled that an old resident said that she was often sent by her mother to the well for the soft white said to scour stools, chairs and other wooden furniture” (French 2012: 29).
“There is supposed to be a curse attached to the Johnstown House, namely that the owner never lives to see his eldest son come of age” (French 2012: 29-30).
9 Publications
French, Noel. 2012. Meath Holy Wells. Trim: Meath Heritage Centre.