Saint Peter's Well, Emly, Co. Tipperary

Co. Tipperary |

Holy Sites & Wells

Saint Peter’s Well, Emly, Co. Tipperary

On the Ordnance Survey map, this holy well is marked simply as a "site of", the cartographic equivalent of a shrug, suggesting something lost or gone.

But the well at Emly dedicated to Saint Peter has not quite disappeared. It has simply retreated under a rock.

Set in grassland on a west-facing slope about 250 metres north-west of St. Aible's graveyard, the well sits at the base of a large red sandstone outcrop roughly four metres long and just over a metre high. Rather than the well being separate from this natural feature, it seems to have been built into it, with the rock forming part of the structure itself, partly supported by smaller stones beneath. Where stonework is visible, it takes the form of a circular dry-stone wall, three courses high, constructed from local sandstone rubble, with what appears to be a corbelled roof, a technique in which stones are laid in overlapping rings that gradually close to form a dome or cap. The internal diameter of the well chamber runs to about 1.8 metres, and water can apparently still be glimpsed through a small gap in the stone. Holy wells in Ireland were traditionally sites of localised veneration, often associated with a named saint and visited on a particular feast day for patterns, the term for the devotional rounds of prayer performed at such sites. The dedication here to Saint Peter, rather than to a local Irish saint, is relatively unusual in the Tipperary landscape, where wells more commonly carry the names of figures like Brigid or Colmcille.

The well lies in open grassland and is not especially easy to identify from a distance, given how thoroughly the large rock now defines its appearance. The gap in the stone through which the water is visible is small, so close inspection is needed to get any sense of the structure beneath.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Saint Peter’s Well, Emly, Co. Tipperary. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement