It is one of the more quietly particular uses to which Ireland's holy wells have been put. Where many such sites accumulated broad reputations for general healing, this one became associated with a single, precise ailment, which gives it an unusual focus among the hundreds of sacred water sources scattered across Munster.

The well is also known as Brigid's Well, connecting it to the tradition of St Brigid, one of Ireland's three patron saints, whose name attaches to a remarkable number of healing springs across the country. The association between Brigid and curative water is ancient and persistent. Ó Ríordáin noted the site in 1932, recording both its physical form and its reputation for eye cures. What makes the immediate setting still more intriguing is that a second holy well sits roughly seven metres to the west, the two sites lying close enough together to suggest that the area around Kilbrogan once held particular significance as a place of veneration or resort.