Dublin Core
Title
Saint Ronan's Well (Dromiskin)
Description of Well Item Type Metadata
1 Name of well and saint
Saint Ronan's Well (Dromiskin)
2 Townland, County, GPS
Dromiskin Townland, County Louth
3 Physical description of well and its surroundings
Saint Ronan's Well is accessible by following a lane between the nearby school and the Catholic Church, though there is a wire fence to keep animals out. It used to be a bog, but, upon losing its banks, the spring broke away and now flows south from a large circular hollow (Conlon, 1999). The water, which varies in intensity throughout the year, trickles out from under an elder bush, where it travels towards the field and seeps into the ground (Connolly and Moroney, 1998).
4 Cure
5 Pattern day
Saint Ronan's feast day is November 30th, but it is unclear whether or not that was additionally a pattern day for the spring (Connolly and Moroney, 1998).
6 Offerings
None are mentioned.
7 Prayer rounds and stations
Stations did occur, but they appear to have stopped sometime in the 18th century (Conlon, 1999).
8 Stories
The well has "moved" as previously mentioned. The farm owner where the well currently rests is Mr. James Dullagahn. He tells the traditional story of the overnight position change as due to the fact that an "irreligious woman used the well to wash filthy clothing" (The Schools Collection).
An older woman states that when "she was a little girl she often heard her father speak of having seen the field in which the well stood thronged with pilgrims and priests hearing confessions and giving Communion in one corner of it. She thinks... she heard her father say that the pilgrimage... was on the 15th [of] August, and that many cures were wrought there." (The Schools' Collection)
An older woman states that when "she was a little girl she often heard her father speak of having seen the field in which the well stood thronged with pilgrims and priests hearing confessions and giving Communion in one corner of it. She thinks... she heard her father say that the pilgrimage... was on the 15th [of] August, and that many cures were wrought there." (The Schools' Collection)
9 Publications
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0665, Page 440
"The Holy Wells of County Louth" by Larry Conlon (1999)
"Stone and Tree Sheltering Water: An Exploration of Sacred and Secular Wells in County Louth" by Susan Connolly and Anne-Marie Moroney (1998)
"The Holy Wells of County Louth" by Larry Conlon (1999)
"Stone and Tree Sheltering Water: An Exploration of Sacred and Secular Wells in County Louth" by Susan Connolly and Anne-Marie Moroney (1998)