Well, Scartaglin, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Utility Structures

Well, Scartaglin, Co. Kerry

Scartaglin is a small village in the east Kerry uplands, perhaps best known as a stronghold of traditional Irish music, but it also holds a well considered significant enough to be formally recorded as an archaeological monument.

That designation alone marks it out. Wells in Ireland occupy a peculiar category in the historical landscape, often sitting at the boundary between the functional and the sacred. Many were venerated long before Christianity arrived and were subsequently absorbed into the calendar of local saints, their waters credited with curative properties and their surrounds visited on particular feast days in a practice known as a pattern.

The sources available on this well are, for the moment, thin. What can be said is that its formal recognition as a monument places it within a tradition that runs very deep in Kerry, a county with an unusually dense concentration of holy and historically significant wells. Some of these sites retain elaborate stonework, votive niches, or the remnants of timber structures built over the water. Others are little more than a spring emerging from rough ground, their importance carried in local memory rather than visible fabric. Without fuller documentation, exactly where this well sits along that spectrum remains an open question.

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 Well, Scartaglin, Co. Kerry. 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