St Anne's Well

 

St Anne's Well

Christy Cunniffe

In the townland of Booleynanollagh, a place referred to in the ordnance survey letters as Aughanass, derived from Áth an Eas, meaning ‘ford of the cataract’ contains a holy well dedicated to St Anne and an associated children’s burial ground. While the well has been modified in recent times, it retains much of its character. A set of stone-steps provides access to a sunken well, located close to a flowing stream. A painted wooden shrine containing a statue of St Anne is positioned on a plinth at the head of the well. Votive offerings and numerous other items of religious interest adorn the area around the well. A large white wooden Calvary-style cross is mounted on a mound containing a well maintained children’s burial ground. The rows of set stone grave-markers that straddle the mound are quite a prominent feature of the site. Each of the rows are closely spaced, inferring the presence of child burials only. Sometimes adults were also buried in these sites. Folklore recalls that at least one adult was buried here at the time of the Great Famine.