A pattern, for those unfamiliar with the tradition, was a gathering at a holy well or sacred site on a saint's feast day, combining religious devotion with communal ceremony. The association recorded here links a quiet corner of Wexford to a saint whose influence stretched from Donegal to the islands of Scotland and beyond.

The pattern at this well was noted by the antiquarian John O'Donovan around 1840, at a time when such gatherings were still living practice in many parts of Ireland. The saint himself, Colum Cille, is among the best-documented figures from early Irish Christianity and was recognised alongside Patrick and Brigid as one of the three national saints. He came from the Ceinéal Conaill, the ruling dynasty of Donegal, though his mother Eithne may have had connections to the Uí Bhairrche of Carlow and Wexford, which could explain why his cult took root in this part of the country. His education under Fionnbharr of Movila in County Down was followed by a controversy that altered the course of his life: the secret copying of a manuscript, which contributed to a dispute that ended in the battle of Cúil Dreimhne. The fallout led Colum Cille to leave Ireland entirely. He settled on the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland, where he founded a monastery around 550 that became the driving centre of the Columban mission to Britain and the Continent. That a spring in County Wexford should carry his name is a reminder of how widely his memory spread, even in regions with only a tenuous biographical connection to the man himself.