Four stone steps descend into a sunken chamber, barely a metre wide, where a semi-circular arch of finely cut stone rises above the water. A chain hangs from a projecting stone on one side, a cup attached to its end. A rectangular niche sits opposite. Flowers and religious memorabilia are pressed into the gaps between stones at the back of the well, and on the thorn trees just to the north-west, the faded remnants of tied rags catch the light. These rags are a practice found at holy wells across Ireland, sometimes called clooties, where a strip of cloth was attached near the well as part of a ritual appeal for healing. The water itself, only about forty-five centimetres deep, lies still and moss-covered.

The well is dedicated to Saint James and, according to a plaque at the entrance, local tradition holds it to have curative properties specifically for poor or failing eyesight. The pattern day, a pattern being an annual gathering at a holy well or sacred site combining prayer with communal celebration, falls on the 25th of July, and earlier sources from 1916 and 1930 record that pilgrimages were also made on Saturdays. Local folklore adds a more martial detail to the well's history: O'Sullivan Beare and his followers are said to have stopped here to drink before retreating to Rathvira fort. The well and its associated pattern fell into neglect at some point before being formally restored in 1991, with the entrance erected in 1998, both projects undertaken by Multeen Tourism and FÁS.

The well sits within a small fenced enclosure in undulating pasture, reached by a narrow pathway roughly twenty-four metres long from the road. The most meaningful time to visit is around the 25th of July, when the pattern day draws people who continue the old association between this water and the hope of clearer sight.