The placename derives from the Irish poll na darach, meaning the hole or hollow of the oak, suggesting a site shaped by the landscape long before anyone thought to record it formally. Holy wells of this kind are among the oldest continuously venerated places in Ireland, typically associated with a local saint or with pre-Christian beliefs that were gradually absorbed into folk Catholicism. They were places of pattern days, of votive offerings left on nearby bushes or stones, of water believed to carry healing properties for specific ailments.

The well at Poulnadarree sits within a county that has an unusually dense concentration of such sites, Clare being a place where the limestone geography creates natural springs and seepages that would have seemed remarkable to early inhabitants. The oak association embedded in the townland name points toward a landscape once heavily wooded, and oak groves held considerable significance in early Irish religious practice, both before and after the arrival of Christianity. Without more detailed surviving record, the specific patron or feast day historically linked to this well remains unclear, but the presence of the well as a formally recognised monument confirms that it was considered significant enough to warrant documentation as part of the archaeological landscape.