These holy wells sit in an area of rough pasture land, where rocky outcrops break through the grass and the terrain slopes towards the sea. The wells represent a long tradition of ritual water sites in Ireland, where natural springs were venerated for their supposed healing properties and spiritual importance.

The location of these wells, close to the shoreline in relatively poor agricultural land, follows a pattern seen throughout Ireland where sacred sites often occupied liminal spaces; places between the everyday world of farming and settlement, and the wild edges of land and sea. Such wells typically attracted pilgrims on particular feast days, with visitors performing rounds of prayer, leaving offerings, or seeking cures for various ailments. The rocky, marginal landscape around Rann Na Feirste’s wells would have added to their otherworldly atmosphere, setting them apart from the mundane concerns of daily life.

Though no longer actively used for ritual purposes, these wells remain important markers in Donegal’s archaeological landscape. They form part of a broader network of holy wells documented across the county, each telling its own story of folk belief, community tradition, and the enduring human tendency to find the sacred in natural water sources. The Archaeological Survey of County Donegal recorded these sites as part of efforts to preserve knowledge of the county’s rich heritage, from prehistoric times through to the early modern period.