27/08/2026
🙏 Remember to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Fiachra this Sunday
📍 St. Fiacre's Well, Sheastown, Co. Kilkenny
• Who was St. Fiacre? A 7th-century Irish monk and hermit born around 600 AD, famous for his deep piety, knowledge of herbal medicine, and love of gardening.
• Local Roots: Before moving to France (where he founded a famous monastery in Meaux) he lived as a hermit and healer in County Kilkenny (near Kilferagh and Ullard).
• The Holy Well: Hidden in the Kilkenny countryside at Sheastown, the quiet spring has drawn local pilgrims for centuries.
• Traditions: Tradition says visitors come to pray and seek healing, keeping ancient pattern-day customs alive on the last Sunday of August.
• A Global Legacy: Fiacre is not just remembered in Kilkenny; he is the international patron saint of gardeners and even inspired the name for horse-drawn carriages in Paris (fiacres)!
🌱 The Story of St. Fiacre’s Well
St. Fiacre's Well in County Kilkenny is a 7th-century sacred site linked to the Irish hermit Saint Fiacre. Nestled in the parish of Kilferagh near Bennettsbridge, St. Fiacre's Well is one of Kilkenny's most treasured holy wells, with a tradition of pilgrimage and prayer stretching back centuries.
Every year, the community gathers at the well to celebrate the traditional Pattern Day and Mass, held on the last Sunday of August. This longstanding custom remains an important expression of faith, heritage, and local identity, drawing pilgrims and visitors to this peaceful and sacred place.
One local primary student from St. Patrick's Convent in Kilkenny wrote about St. Fiacre's Well back in the 1930s as part of the school's collection on Duchas.ie - a digital archive of local folklore and history recorded by primary students around the country.
