Novena to commemorate Kildalkey's patron saint

A novena dedicated to Kildalkey's patron saint, St Dympna, was held after the 10am Mass last Sunday with a visit to St Dympna's Well, north of the village, where the rosary was recited. St Dympna's Well at Kildalkey was recorded as dried up on many occasions over the last 200 years and, in the 1930s, a school child wrote that "as years roll on, this holy well will probably be forgotten altogether". However, the well and its traditions survived and a large group assembled there this year to commemorate the saint's day on 15th May. St Dymnpna's well, Tober Damhnata, is located in a field beside the old churchyard about half a mile north of Kildalkey village on the road to Athboy. Access to the well is gained through the cemetery and the remains of the church is sometimes called St Dympna's Abbey, but the dedication of the abbey which existed at Kildalkey in the eighth and ninth centuries is unclear. Folklore states that the well has healing powers. It was said that when a person dips a ribbon in the well and ties it around their head, it will cure headaches. In order to cure tootache, the person must drink some water from the well. The well is said to keep away serious illness from its vicinity. Legend has it that St Dympna fled from her father to Kildalkey where she took refuge near the old abbey. She was so sad with her situation - she was being forced into an unwanted marriage by her father - that she began to sob and cried so much that a well sprang up at her feet. The well does not appear on any of the early Ordnance Survey maps. John O'Donovan recorded that St Dympna, the virgin, was the patron of Kildalkey parish and was commemorated each year on 15th May. In 1999, the Kildalkey Active Retirement Association re-opened the well as one of its millennium projects. A wall was erected to protect it and the restored well was blessed by Fr Colm Murtagh on 1st October 2000. Kildalkey man, Frank Kelly, penned a poem to commemorate the restoration of the well and his poem and the story of St Dympna is recorded on a commemorative plaque. Since the restoration, local people have gathered at the well annually on the saint's day. St Dympna is the patron saint of Kildalkey and the church, school and graveyard are dedicated to her memory.