St. Laan's Well and Pattern

St Laan’s Well 

St. Killaan’s Well is depicted for the first time on the 1930s 3rd edition map. This is difficult to explain. O’Donovan clearly refers to a pattern at Tobair Laan. Both the entry in the Archaeological Inventory for County Galway Vol. II and the results of fieldwork by the writer concur that the well known as St. Killaan’s Well is the one most likely to have been associated with the annual pattern (Alcock et.al 1999, 344-345).

Hollow within drystone structure

The well closest to the church consists of the poorly preserved remains of a roughly circular hollow set within a low rectangular drystone enclosure (N-S 3.5m, E-W 2.65). Attached to the east of this is a similar rectangular structure (N-S 4.8m, E-W 2.95m). Both structures are constructed of partially moss-covered limestone blocks, standing to a maximum of 50cm high with outer stones set erect. The most easterly structure is quite overgrown by nettles and the southern wall is 1.6cm thick, while the northern wall is only 90cm thick. A small stand of blackthorn encompasses the site. Due to a change in the local hydrology the well is generally dry, but when the water table is high it fills up with water.

Offerings

No votive offerings were discernible at the time the well was surveyed by the archaeological survey team in the 1980s. However, a number of small pieces of quartz noted by the writer during recent investigations may well be votive in nature. Deposits of quartz pebbles are a feature commonly associated with holy wells. This particular well is not illustrated on the First Edition OS map (1839). As it is called St. Killaan’s Well it too is dedicated to St. Laan.

It is uncertain when it first came in to being. It is strange that two wells in close proximity should be dedicated to the same saint. While it seems implausible that it should have been confused or overlooked at the time of the Ordnance Survey it seems equally amazing that it could be of late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century origin and this not be remembered in local folk tradition. But. Perhaps we should be alarmed by O’Donovan’s own comment when writing up Killaan. He states that, ‘I am just sick of church yards, skulls and mouldering walls of churches and the misery of it’ (O’Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 609). He was obviously becoming weary due to the heavy work load and thus could easily have made mistakes. At this point in time archaeological excavation is probably the only means of resolving this issue.

Located in a field to the north of this is ‘Tobair Laan’, or Saint Laan’s Well. This well is marked on the 1st edition OS map. During the archaeological survey carried out in 1985 the well was described as ‘D’ shaped in ground plan and surrounded by a line of drystone walling reaching an average height of 15cm. A modern iron railing is built on the top of the wall (Alcock et.al. 1999, 344). A stream clearly visible beside the well on the 1840s map has become overgrown and is now barely discernible in the landscape. A shore that linked the well to the stream is identified by the presence of a box-like opening in the enclosing wall. Local information recalls its use as a domestic well. The water is made accessible by a series of steps.

The holy wells discussed above are in close proximity to the church and form part of the greater religious complex. A bullaun stone (GA086-148) is also recorded for the townland. While it is on the edge of the townland it may have been originally associated with the early Christian settlement.