Saint Lachtain’s Holy Well, Freshford

A zoomorphic image in the arch of St Lachtain's church

In the picturesque little village of Freshford in County Kilkenny lies a deep holy well dedicated to Saint Lachtain. The village is settled on a small park square with the remnants of an Irish high cross, but sadly all that is to be seen is a lump of worn stone. A little way down from the village square is the church of Saint Lachtain, built in 1731 and incorporating an ancient doorway portal from 1110. Although the actual church building is of a relatively late date, the site is of great historical significance in Ireland as a site of almost continuous use since its early foundation.

 The ancient archway of St Lachtain's church

The original foundation at Freshford was settled some time in the seventh century before the death of Saint Lachtain in 672AD (some annals record the earlier date of 622AD, but this may be a confusion with the date of the foundation of the first church at Freshford) and very early historical records make many references to the existence of the site. It is mentioned later in various Annals dating from the twelfth and thirteenth century, where an attempt is clearly being made to have the site recognized as the Episcopal centre of the newly established diocese of Ossory. The mission met with failure with the site being recognized only a part of the temporalities of the See of Ossory in 1218. However, Bishop Hugh Mapleton held it in high esteem and built his Episcopal palace close by called Uppercourt. Uppercourt was to remain the favoured residence of the Bishop’s of Ossory until the 1550’s when Bishop John Bale was resident. This Bishop had a voracious reforming zeal which enraged the local population and in a single night they murdered five of his servants, forcing him to flee for his life. Since then, the building of Uppercourt has been in secular ownership.

The village of Freshford

Today the church of Saint Lachtain is still in regular use and the nave of the church is thought to be built on the same foundation outline as the tenth century cell church (the second church to built on the site) which was built to house the relic of Saint Lachtain’s arm; a magnificent silver and gold reliquary which housed the saints forearm bones and which can be seen in the National Museum in Dublin. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the relic survived at all as the site was plundered numerous times by the Vikings and casual robbers, who repeatedly burned its books and plundered its silver and gold. The Franciscan’s moved the reliquary to County Kerry in the mid 1600’s where it was to stay for some time before being transferred into the care of the Museum in Dublin. The doorway to the church is the oldest surviving part of it, dating to 1110 and incorporating some zoomorphic figures, a rider on horseback and two ecclesiastical figures (both unidentified). The arch carries a prayer inscribed in Irish script: Pray for Niamh, daughter of Corc, and for Mathgamhan O Clearmaic for whom this church was made. Pray for Gille Mocholmoc for whom this church was made. Pray for Gille Mocholmoc O Ceannucain who made it.

Two ecclesiastical figures in the arch

Saint Lachtain’s day is celebrated on 19^th March. A native of Muskerry in County Cork and born into an illustrious family, Saint Lachtain’s arrival was shrouded in mystery in a vision given to Saint Molua while under the oversight of Saint Comgall of Bangor. It was said that Saint Molua was so disturbed by this vision, and in fear that it he had fantasised the whole thing himself, he never broke a smile until he heard of the child’s birth! Lachtains genealogy is confused, but it is generally regarded that he was of royal lineage. The earliest life of the saint (which only records his early years) is now lost, but various writers such as Colgan records a story from it regarding how the child in the womb appeared in a vision to a blind man by the name of Mohemeth to give him his sight. Other stories relating to Lachtain’s childhood portray him in the same vein as Jacob, Jeremiah and John the Baptist, sanctified before their birth - a common device used in early Irish Saint’s Life’s. Other miracles from his childhood relate how he healed himself of food poisoning, how he healed his mother of a terminal tumor and how he saved the cattle of the area from a terrible plague.

The shrine reliquary of Saint Lachtain's arm

In later Life accounts of the saint we are told how he journeyed northward and went to study under the direction of Saint Comgall in Bangor, who placed him in the care of Saint Molua as his guardian and teacher. He remained here until the age of thirty, studying diligently and being highly proficient in his knowledge of the scriptures. After this period in Bangor, Lachtain set out to establish a number of religious foundations both in County Kilkenny and in County Cork.

 The much neglected holy well

The saint’s holy well is a short walk from the ecclesiastical site, set off slightly from the main road into the village. O’Hanlon records it as being in great disrepair and utterly neglected by the local people, but the same well is mentioned in the ancient Life of Saint Mochoemoc (an Abbott in the time of Saint Lachtain’s later years and patron saint of LIsmore) as being a place ‘sacred to the memory of Saint Lachtain’. Saint Lachtain died on the 19^th March in 672AD and within a very short period of his death he was being venerated as a saint, recorded in the martyrology of AEngus of Culdee, the Martyrology of Tallaght, of Marianus O’Gorman, of Maguire, O’Clery’s, in the Calendar of Cashel, and more curiously the saint appears in the sanctorale of the Carthusian Order throughout Europe on the same date. There are a number of Holy Wells dedicated to Saint Lachtain throughout Ireland and all of them hold in common a belief that they cure paralytics and those ‘possessed by a diabolical agency’. The waters in the holy well at Freshford are considered beneficial for the blessing of cattle; possibly relating to an account in one of the Life’s which tells of the Saint’s gift of cattle to the people and of his love of dairy food. Saint Lachtain was also highly regarded as a broker of peace between warring factions and tribal scuffles, and was said to have been a keen defender of the interests of the people of Munster. In later martyrologies he is recorded as being a Bishop, but despite the record, it is a claim that is difficult to ascertain in truth. Overall, Lachtain’s life is one that tells of supreme sacrifice, leaving behind his royal rights to enter a life of self-giving and risking his life in peacemaking for the people he loved. A healer, a teacher and a man of prayer who travelled by faith the length and breath of Ireland, Saint Lachtain’s memory is firmly fixed in Freshford; a sleepy, peaceful little village in County Kilkenny.

The modern, small cross at the well

At some point the holy well at Freshford has gone through very significant alteration, with a boundary wall now built to separate it from the surrounding farmer’s fields, and an iron gate encompassing a cross erected at its entrance. A Conservation Plan from 2004, typically makes no mention of the well at all. The holy well itself is very deep, but badly neglected. Its culverts have become blocked, so the water fills up over the top of the circular well housing and because of the lack of flow, much green algae has grown on the surface of the water. The rest of the well housing is in good condition, with a tiny stone cross in one corner. It is a simple layout and easy to make rounds, but the waters are far from inviting! Despite being on a main road into the village, it is a peaceful place with its own peculiar charm and sleepy nature. A much overlooked site that’s well worth the visit.

The iron gate at the entrance to the well

Lachtain, the Champion, loved

Humility, perfect and pure,

Stand through perpetual time

Did he in defence of the men of Munster.

Cumineus of Connor.

O thou who art heroic love, keep alive in our hearts that adventurous spirit which makes men scorn the way of safety, so that thy will be done. For so only, O Lord, shall we be worthy of those courageous souls who in every age have ventured all in obedience to thy call, and for whom the trumpets have sounded on the other side; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

John H. Oldham

The stump of the high cross

How to find it:

From Kilkenny heading out to the village of Freshford, the holy well is located around 200 metres before the village on the right hand side of the road. As you enter the village, the church is located down a road to the right off the main village green.

A cross inscribed in the doorway of the church

Saint Kieran’s Holy Well, Seir Kieran

The sign on the gate

Seir Kieran is a small hamlet in County Offaly where Saint Kieran’s well can be found and his ‘holy bush’. Close by are the ruins of an ancient monastic complex and round tower, where a high King of Ireland is said to have been buried and where you can see the foot of what must have been a truly huge high cross.

The church

Legend has it that Saint Kieran the Elder settled in this area and founded a monastery here. The exact date of the foundation is unknown, but patching together the archaeological clues and the hagiographical ones would lead you to pinpoint the foundation to somewhere before 490AD. For many years this was the seat of the Bishop of this area, and the stone seat – which now resides in Kilkenny Cathedral – is said to have been the Bishop’s throne. This was to remain the ‘official’ seat of the Bishop of Ossory until the standardization of monastic and church practice with the arrival of the Augustinian Canons in 1200AD who were keen to remove the ‘wayward’ Celtic practices of the Irish monastic system and to keep the church in line with what was happening in the rest of Europe.

The stump of the high cross

The monastic site is now a collection of crumbling ruins. A few small chapel ruins can be viewed and clearly plotted and the remains of a round tower (thought to have been constructed in the tenth century) are still visible, but on the whole the site has been greatly tampered with due to its continued use as a graveyard and the fact that the ground has become very uneven. A few interesting gravestones are scattered around - both ancient and modern -  a very ancient one bearing the inscription ‘ Ordo Cherball’ (pray for Cherball). In the 1930’s a large base for an ancient high cross dating to the early ninth century was unearthed. The base of this cross is both significantly larger and taller than either of the two very large high crosses at Monasterboice, which would lead you to think that it was a very significant cross. Sadly, no other pieces have been unearthed, but the on the base you could at one time see the image of Adam and Eve being cast out of the garden of Eden and a curious battle scene of men marching with spears behind a large horse. Today the base of the cross is so badly weathered that you cannot make out any of the figures at all. Locals say that the water that gathers in the cross stump has curative properties, especially for warts!

Saint Kieran's Holy Bush

There is a rather fine little Church of Ireland chapel on the site which is still used for services. It is of far more modern construction than anything else on the site, but incorporates stonework from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, and its tracery window dates from the thirteenth century. At one time a Sheela-na-Gig sat over the main door of the church; but this was removed and taken to the Dublin Museum some time ago.

The holy stone

Saint Kieran the Elder was said to have been trained and instructed by Saint Patrick. He was then sent out into Ossory to found a monastery and Saint Patrick had given him a bell to travel with. These bells seem to have been very significant for these early Irish monastic settlements and their saints. They acted as a call to prayer, as a way of possibly getting peoples attention in the local area, but they were also symbols of the presence of God and became valuable relics associated with many saints. There were undoubtedly other symbolic associations with these bells because their structure and sound was really very distinctive. In this instance, the story is told that the bell given to Saint Kieran rang out of its own accord to indicate when the saint had arrived at a suitable location for his monastery.

An old church ruin on the monastic site (with a cow in it)

Very close to the church and to the side of the road is what is known as Kieran’s holy bush which has become a cloutie tree, holding all manner of objects. Beneath this tree is a small rock in the ground said to hold the imprints of the knees of the saint where he knelt to pray. This is in fact incorrect; the stone, which is now under great clumps of grass and moss – was once said to have been the hand print of the saint. In 1838 Thomas O’Connor wrote a letter to those involved in mapping the area and in the letter he records much interesting detail, including the presence of a white thorn bush by the side of the road said to be the saints bush. Beneath the bush he describes the presence of a small stone with the very clear imprint of a hand on it. Today, the hand is no longer visible as the stone is greatly worn, but a deep cross has also been incised into it, so any ‘imprint’ would be difficult to make out. Thomas O’Connor writes that promises or vows are made at this stone and the intercession of the saint is sought here also.

The site of the holy well

Across the road from the bush and stone is Saint Kieran’s well. Saint Kieran’s feast day is the 5^th March and an ecumenical service is normally held at the bush and the well. The well itself is of a large square construction, and despite the fact that it has been ‘beautified’ with more more concrete than a nearby motorway and hedging that protects you from the elements but removes the beautiful view, it still retains the ancient stones of the well housing intact. It appears to all intents and purposes to be an immersion pool, with steps leading down into it. The water is murky and full of algae, but it is cleaned out for the feast day. It has plenty of space to do the traditional ‘rounds’ and the surrounding countryside is certainly beautiful and peaceful.

Saint Kieran's Holy Well

Like many places in Ireland, this is a site and holy well that has been much neglected and really only held interest for a few faithful locals. But times are changing and there is a revival of interest in these sites and in holy wells. In many ways I think part of it is linked to peoples’ sense of devotion to God and the activity of gathering as a community to share in a pilgrimage to a site – no matter how short that pilgrimage is! Patterns are becoming increasingly popular again after a long period of neglect and even attempts to stop them altogether. The pattern here at Saint Keiran’s holy well, bush, stone and monastic site is experiencing a little revival of a sort and there is now even a Facebook page devoted to the pattern.

Cobwebs in the morning dew

Saint Kieran arrived in Offaly at a time when great superstitions were destroying the minds and the peace of the people. His influence in that early period was great, and his Rule for his monks was simple and short. It inspired others in the local area to join his monastery and to try and rid themselves of the shackles of tributes to be constantly paid to unjust and greedy chieftains in the area.  This was essentially much of Kieran’s work in the area and it is both ironic and sad that by 1200AD the same crippling tributes were enforced through the Augustinian Canons who essentially courted the rich as patrons and spelt the end of the simple Irish monastic Rule. Much of what we know of Kieran’s life comes from two sources: the ancient source of the Life of Keiran as recorded in the Codex Kilkenniensis and a small document held in the Marsh’s Library in Dublin, thought to be the work of Saint Evan (who also collected stories of the life of Saint Patrick), but the actual document dates to the fourteenth century. Both documents record the point where the bell rang out as being beside the holy well which sprang from a great rock deep in the earth and where the saint first stopped to bathe himself and make a small hut as a dwelling.

The monastic site

May the blessing of rain fall on us - the soft sweet rain.

May it fall upon our spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up, and spread their sweetness on the air. May the blessing of the great rains be upon us, that they may beat upon our spirits and wash them fair and clean, and leave there many a shining pool where the blue of heaven shines – and sometimes, a star.

A cross in the graveyard

How to find it:

As you enter Seir Kieran, the holy well is very clearly signposted down a small lane to the right and the holy bush is up on the left hand side of the road. A five minute walk up the road and you can see the monastic side down to the right.

A cure for warts!

St James' Well, Carlingford

The Proleek Dolmen

Saint James' well isn't actually in the town of Carlingford, but it is immediately before the turnoff from the Greenore Road into the town. Carlingford takes its name from the 'fjiord of Carlinn' and as the name suggests, it might have been at one time a base for raiding Vikings who made good use of its sheltered position. It remains one of Ireland's best preserved Medieval towns, founded by the Anglo-Normans in the twelfth century. Today in the town you can see the remains of a Friary, a mint dating from 1467, a castle dating from around 1200 in which it is said King John stayed in and the narrow and distinctive streets associated with Medieval towns in Ireland. Add to this a number of good eating houses, plenty of pubs and beautiful views out across the lough and you have a vibrant little town steeped in history. The surrounding area is no less exciting in terms of its history and monuments. I've documented some of them here before on this blog, including the areas link with the Knights Templar. (see Our Lady's Well, Templetown). 

The remains of John's Castle, Carlingford

The whole area of Carlingford and the Cooley Peninsula is strongly associated with the tale of the Táin Bó Cúailinge which tells the tale of the famous warrior Cúchulainn who becomes entangled in a story of lust, power, battles and intrigue. Part of the battle involves a great epic battle between the two bulls of the opposing armies and the brown bull impales the carcass of the white bull on his horns, casting his entrails throughout the Cooley peninsula, then breaking up his body and finally carving up great mounds of earth near Carlingford and into Ulster.  The nearby Black Mountain has a cairn on top and Barnavave Hill has the remains of an ancient church. In behind the Ballymascalon hotel and a short walk to the far end of the golf course you will find the Proleek Dolmen. It's an impressive structure of around thirteen feet. At one time these stones were thought to be grave markers, but today the general consensus is that they are doorways into much larger structures. Behind the dolmen doorway a  large mound of earth and stones would have formed a structure that people could walk into. It's not at all clear if it served as a place to put the dead or if it had some religious or ritual significance in some other way. Close by are the remains of a wedge cairn with a long tapering gallery and a slab door that also faces west. This is most definitely a burial site and cremated remains would have been brought here. With it's close association to the dolmen, it might be that the dolmen mound was a sacred place of religious ritual and the wedge cairn is the burial site; but we simply do not know. 

The wedge cairn

Local myth and saga record an interesting version of events surrounding the formation of the dolmen and the wedge cairn. It is said locally that the wedge cairn is known as the grave of Para Buí Mór Mhac Seódín who was a giant who came to do battle with another giant by the name of Fionn mac Cumhaill. In order to impress the futility of this struggle upon his opponent, Para Buí Mór Mhac Seódín is said to have carried the thirty ton cap-stone to the battle site on his back and laid it on the three stones as a sign of his superior strength. Hence the nick-name given to the dolmen; 'the giant's load'. Today you will likely see a number of stones sitting on top of the dolmen and legend has it that if you can get a pebble to remain on top you will be married within the year or have good luck for the year.

The site of St James' well

Very little is known about Saint James' holy well, but there is a local Roman Catholic parish that bears the same dedication and has done for the last two hundred and fifty years. The Dominicans and the Franciscans had settlements in this area, but neither of them really have any strong association to St James. I think instead it must be an association with the Knights Templar again. The Knights Templar were the protectors of Jerusalem and were deeply involved for many years in the crusades and they had a presence on the Cooley peninsula. Saint James was seen as a patron saint of a sort for many involved in the Knights Templars, named at one stage as the 'matamoros'; the Moor slayer. On a rather more enlightened note, James is also the patron saint of pilgrims and very often his symbol is the same as that of travelling pilgrims - a scallop shell. 

The well

The well today is full of water and beside it a culvert runs a stream out of the site and out underneath the road. It's a peculiar site, being exposed to the road, yet there is a sense of peace about this place. Above the well is a modern cross erected in 1932, which tells us the area was refurbished and which asks us to pray for the donor. Curiously, the donor is not named. Behind this, on the ground, lies a collection of large stones laid out in the form of a large cross. I don't think they were ever a cross originally, but rather they appear to be stones that might have at one time formed the original housing of the holy well. As far as I know, no pattern is held here, but the local parish of Saint James does come here to say the rosary - especially before a funeral mass.

Stones laid out in the shape of a cross

To one side, under the shade of a large tree a headstone from 1998 sits in memory of all who were buried on this site. Apparently the site is an old burial ground for babies and very young children. There is a peculiar sadness to the absence of names and the missing tokens of those who were the parents who at one time grieved their significant loss. Thankfully the memorial stone erected in 1998 goes some of the way to reversing that sense of sadness, but it will forever be compounded by the dedication of this well site to the patron saint of pilgrims in a place where so many are buried who had barely begun their pilgrimage through this life before they were taken.

The stream and culvert at the well

If you get the chance, it's well worth travelling in the exact opposite direction, crossing the motorway and making your way out towards Louth village. Here you will find a little stone church dedicated to St Mochta. It sits in the middle of a field just outside the village and it has a very large Medieval Cathedral in front of it. Sadly, you cannot gain access to either now, but it is still worth seeing. 

Saint Mochta's House

This building is part of a monastic settlement on this site that dates back to the sixth century. Legend has it that St Patrick actually came here and founded the monastery in order to look after twelve lepers in the area who pleaded for his help. Patrick is said to have had great pity for them and then left them in the care of his most trusted and well-loved disciple, Saint Mochta. The site was raided by Vikings three times from 900-1100AD and these raids were so swift and brutal that very little was left. Saint Mochta's house dates form around the twelfth century and may be the shrine church where his relics and remains were kept, but it's proximity and positioning in relation to the large cathedral may also mean that the 'house' is a Baptistry. The Catholic parish church on its elevated position back in the town of Louth is also worth a visit to see the impressive Harry Clarke windows and the altar friezes detailing the life of Saint Mochta.

Saint Patrick by Harry Clarke

Mindful of the fact that the well site is also a graveyard for babies and children I thought it best to include a prayer here that acknowledges their presence.

O Lord, in every age you reveal yourself to the childlike and lowly of heart, and from every race you write names in your book of life; grant us the simplicity and faith of your saints, that loving you above all things, we may be what you would have us be and do what you would have us do. So may we be numbered with your saints in glory everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Amen.

Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid honouring the Christ child

How to find it:

Saint James's well is very easy to find as you can see it very easily from the road thanks to a large arched black metal sign at the site entrance. It is literally opposite the turn off towards the town of Carlingford, off the Greenore Road as you travel down the Cooley peninsula.

The well basin

Saint Moling’s Well, County Carlow

Saint Moling's Holy Well

Saint Moling’s well in the parish of County Carlow in St Mullins, is a famous well that to this day still has a significant pattern observed there. The pattern takes place on the feast day of the saint on the last Sunday before the 25^th July and it normally involves marching bands, food stalls, a mass (and sometimes an ecumenical service), school children singing and lots of pilgrims come to bathe their feet. The pattern makes a procession from the holy well itself, up the hill towards the graveyard - the site of Moling’s monastery and possibly the site of his burial.

The stream by the turas

St Mullins is a very beautiful place with the remains of an old motte and bailey perched at the top of a hill alongside a collection of ruined churches, remains of a round tower and even fragments of a high cross. To the left lies the holy well and to the right lies the slow and winding River Barrow shrouded in leafy trees. It has a small café down by the riverbank and is the perfect spot to wile away a sunny afternoon. This is an incredibly pretty spot and a great hidden little gem in the county.

The bathing house below the well

The well is said to have a curious beginning. Saint Moling was said to have been interested in acquiring the wood from one of the five trees of Ireland to build a church on the land that had been granted him by Fingin (of Cashel fame). Saint Laserian had also expressed a great interest in having some of the wood from the Yew of Rossa (which had recently fallen), but Moling - who was very close to Laserian - convinced the saint to part with the precious wood. When the wood arrived on the site, Moling had been working the wood and a small shaving entered his eye causing him great discomfort. One day as a cleric walked past he noted Moling sitting idly by the roadside and he asked him what the matter was. Moling explained that his felt the talons of an eagle, a branch of holly and the scratch of a griffin in his eyelid each time his eye moved, causing him much pain and discomfort. The cleric took pity on Moling and blessed a local well of water and told him to bathe his eye in it until it got better. The Brussels manuscript of the 'Birth and Life of Saint Moling' makes reference to the healing well with many rather obscure allusions to Tobit, but from this passage it seems clear that the well was considered as being a holy well of general healing rather than for anything specific. Today, however, the well’s healing properties are considered to be somewhat specific. It is said to heal ulcers on the feet (which Moling suffered from later in life), eye ailments, a trinitarian visit to cure warts and a cure for flu (whereby the person must duck their head into the freezing cold water three times!). In 1349 visits to the well reached fever pitch from a desperate people living in mortal fear of the plague that was sweeping Ireland at the time. Since then there has been a steady flow of pilgrims - some who come for healing, some for prayer and others just to enjoy the peace and the beauty of the area.

One of the stone basins full of well water

The well is slightly above the lay of the land, which seems a little curious, and it is said to be seven springs rising into a large basin with rocks and lumps of quartz. The waters flow from this through two narrow channels, down into stone basins, which in turn overflow into a trough that winds its way down to the river. The trough in the grass is known as the turas, or the pilgrim’s way. Tales are sometimes told of the bush that grows at the well being from Saint Moling’s original walking stick that he planted there to bathe his eyes, and in the time it took for him to complete this act the dead stick had come to life and sprouted and rooted itself to the spot. However, there are other wells dedicated to Saint Moling which also make this bold claim!

The Motte and Bailey

Up the hill from the well is the seventh century monastic settlement, known in Irish as Tighe Moling (House of Moling). The monastery was built on land gifted by Fingin under the instruction and careful spiritual direction of Saint Aidan from Ferns. It is said that Moling dug out the mile long watercourse to power his mill on the site – a task which took nearly seven years. Today none of the original monastery buildings survive, but you can see the remains of a round tower and a badly weathered fragment of a high cross. Worship continued on the site up to more recent times in the Church of Ireland parish church built on the site in 1811. There are three other church remains on the site, the great church (Tempall Mor) said to be the burial site of the saint. There is another little shrine church that caught my eye. Right at the very back of the settlement a small ruined shrine church perches close to the edge of the hill. It bears a sign that says it was ‘Saint James’ Cell’. Ordinance Field Books from 1839 record two pattern days held here in times past. The first was held on 17^th June in honour of Saint Moling (to commemorate his death in 696) and another on the 25^th July in honour of Saint James. On this day people visited Saint Moling’s well and the Ordinance Field Books describe it exactly as it appears today. As to what the cell of Saint James is, is not very clear at all and much digging in books and papers has not revealed an answer I’m afraid. It is entirely possible that at one time it held a relic of Saint James, brought by a visitor to the site or by one of the monks. Could it be that this cell is the rough granite rubble shrine church of Moling? All other six Medieval church ruins are clustered around it on what is otherwise a substantial and open, flat site.

The St Mullins Site

The High Cross towards the back of the site is now sadly very badly eroded and almost impossible to decipher. The base of the cross was a highly decorated, squat cylinder with carved interlinking spirals in a Celtic design. The mains shaft of the cross is broken and missing and the right arm is also broken.  The central figure in the cross is of a crucified Christ flanked by two other unidentified figures. The cross is thought to date from the ninth century. The Book of Moling (preserved in Trinity College Dublin) is a small Gospel book with some notes on Moling’s life and monastery. The book proclaims him as its scribe, but it is generally believed to have been created at least a century after his death. In it a simplified plan of the monastery can be seen with a plan for the erection of no less than sixteen high crosses: eight dedicated to the prophets, four dedicated to the four evangelists, one to the Holy Spirit and three of uncertain dedication (they may be scriptural crosses). The site was envisaged as a double circle with crosses inside and out of the circular enclosures.

The remains of the High Cross

There is no doubt about it, this is a beautiful spot and on a sunny afternoon it is very easy to soak up its peace. On the far side of the hill the River Barrow winds its way gracefully past the lines of trees while people sip hot drinks and chatter alongside the birdsong. It is a hidden gem and a very beautiful well, truly worth the journey.

Down by the River Barrow

O Lord, lead me in your river of life. Teach me to trust in your stream of grace. May I never fight your current of love, but come instead into the steady flow of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ who with you and the Holy Spirit, live and reign now and for ever.

Amen.

How to find it:

The site is very clearly signposted in St Mullins in County Carlow. The holy well is in the valley where the car park is. Across the road you can see a stream and a small, narrow path. Following this path you come to a small stone building with no roof, and directly above this up on the bank is the holy well. The rest of the St Mullins site is on the top of the hill and the River Barrow is down the other side.

Saint James' Cell