Whilst the well earned this designation on the 2nd and 3rd edition OS 6-inch maps, today it sits quietly at the base of a south-facing slope on good agricultural land, with no special features or local traditions to distinguish it from any other water source. The lack of associated folklore or ritual practices makes this site something of an enigma; why it was considered ‘holy’ in the first place remains a mystery lost to time.

Archaeological monitoring in 2001 provided a glimpse into the area’s subsurface character when housing developments were proposed nearby. Two separate excavations, conducted in March and November of that year, revealed the underlying geology to be typical of the region: compact brown gravelly silt peppered with stones of various sizes, sitting atop sandy boulder clay and schist bedrock. The archaeologists, working under licence numbers 01E0233 and 01E0287, kept careful watch as topsoil was stripped from areas measuring over a hundred metres in length, but found nothing of archaeological significance beyond the well’s cartographic notation.

The site offers a view west towards Letterkenny town, and whilst the holy well itself may lack the colourful stories and healing traditions often associated with Ireland’s sacred springs, its presence on those old OS maps suggests it once held meaning for the local community. Whether it was a place of pilgrimage, healing, or simply blessed by association with a local saint, those memories have faded, leaving only the physical feature and its tantalising label on Victorian maps as evidence of its former status.