The OS 6-inch maps document St. Bridget’s Wells within Cruit graveyard, where five simple wells can be found; essentially holes dug into the sandy ground. What makes these particularly fascinating is their ephemeral nature; new wells are constantly being excavated as older ones fill in or shift with the changing landscape. Despite this transience, or perhaps because of it, the site remains an active place of pilgrimage, with devotees still performing the traditional turas, or ritual circuit, around these sacred springs.

The folklorist Ó Muirgheasa provided a detailed account of the site in 1936, noting three named holy wells: Tobar Bhrighde (St. Brigid’s Well), Tobar Mhuire (the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Well), and a third that remains nameless. The religious landscape here extends beyond the wells themselves to include three leachta (stone cairns or monuments) and a curious feature called Leac Phroinseis, or St. Francis’s flagstone, which hints at a possible Franciscan presence on the island. Local tradition held that sick people would be brought to sleep overnight on the Leacht Mhór; if they managed to sleep, it was taken as an auspicious sign of recovery.

The site continues to draw pilgrims on 15 August each year, when stations of prayer are performed. Adding to the mystery of the place, Ó Muirgheasa reported an indecipherable inscription somewhere within Cruit graveyard, though its location and nature remain unclear. This combination of active religious practice, healing traditions, and archaeological enigma makes the wells at Cruit a compelling example of how ancient sacred sites continue to serve their communities whilst keeping some of their secrets.