School: Lecks
- Location:
- Lecks, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: C. Ní Dhiarmuida
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1013, Page 102
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- Holy Wells 'The Holy Wells - the living well- the cool, the fresh, the pure. A thousand ages-rolled away, and still these founts endure'.
When Saint Patrick came to preach the Gospel in Ireland he found a people hungry for the Gospel. They were a simple people. They had neither cities or towns. St Patrick had to build his own churches sometimes of turf or mud rarely of stone. Before he built the churches he had to baptise his converts. He pitched his tent to a wayward stream or well near the dun of a friendly chief.
St Patrick blessed the well, and placed his converts in the sacred stream baptising them.
As a rule all the Irish Saints have one or more blessed wells dedicated to their memory in the immediate memory, neighbourhood of the churches which they founded. Pure water was for them an urgent need. Bread, herbs and water were their daily fare. These Holy Wells blessed for baptism, used at Mass, giving drink to generations of saints.
