![ST. COLMCILLE'S WELL [WELL ROAD IN THE TOWN OF SWORDS]-148771 | by infomatique](http://live.staticflickr.com/7915/46967379762_114b4d7250.jpg)
ST. COLMCILLE'S WELL [WELL ROAD IN THE TOWN OF SWORDS]-148771
It is almost three years since I last visited Swords even though my plan was to visit at least once every year.
St. Colmcille's Well is located on Well Road off Swords Main Street but I could not find any notice or sign at the site indicating that it is a ‘Holy Well’.
It is claimed that St. Colmcille founded the Holy Well on the Well Road in Swords as well as many others throughout the island of Ireland. Local legend has it that the saint took a giant leap from the nearby Round Tower and landed at the spot where the holy well is. This of course is folklore and nobody actually believes the tale but that's what the children of Swords were told growing up in the 50's and 60's. However, it is almost certain that the well existed long before Christianity arrived in Ireland.
Often unmarked on maps and undistinguished by archaeological features, holy wells are a uniquely vulnerable category of ancient site. They continue to be lost to farming, drainage work, development or neglect. A recent instance is the desecration of St Bridget’s Well at Rosepark, Balrothery (County Dublin, Ireland), destroyed by building work in 2003 despite being a protected monument.
A holy well or sacred spring is a spring or other small body of water revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianised. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of limited size (i.e. not a lake or river, but including pools and natural springs and seeps), which has some significance in the folklore of the area where it is located, whether in the form of a particular name, an associated legend, the attribution of healing qualities to the water through the numinous presence of its guardian spirit or Christian saint, or a ceremony or ritual centred on the well site.
In Christian legend, the water is often said to have been made to flow by the action of a saint, a familiar theme especially in the hagiography of Celtic saints.
ST. COLMCILLE'S WELL [WELL ROAD IN THE TOWN OF SWORDS]-148771
It is almost three years since I last visited Swords even though my plan was to visit at least once every year.
St. Colmcille's Well is located on Well Road off Swords Main Street but I could not find any notice or sign at the site indicating that it is a ‘Holy Well’.
It is claimed that St. Colmcille founded the Holy Well on the Well Road in Swords as well as many others throughout the island of Ireland. Local legend has it that the saint took a giant leap from the nearby Round Tower and landed at the spot where the holy well is. This of course is folklore and nobody actually believes the tale but that's what the children of Swords were told growing up in the 50's and 60's. However, it is almost certain that the well existed long before Christianity arrived in Ireland.
Often unmarked on maps and undistinguished by archaeological features, holy wells are a uniquely vulnerable category of ancient site. They continue to be lost to farming, drainage work, development or neglect. A recent instance is the desecration of St Bridget’s Well at Rosepark, Balrothery (County Dublin, Ireland), destroyed by building work in 2003 despite being a protected monument.
A holy well or sacred spring is a spring or other small body of water revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianised. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of limited size (i.e. not a lake or river, but including pools and natural springs and seeps), which has some significance in the folklore of the area where it is located, whether in the form of a particular name, an associated legend, the attribution of healing qualities to the water through the numinous presence of its guardian spirit or Christian saint, or a ceremony or ritual centred on the well site.
In Christian legend, the water is often said to have been made to flow by the action of a saint, a familiar theme especially in the hagiography of Celtic saints.