placenamesBrideswell
Tobar Bríde
Saint Brigid’s well gives Brideswell a distinctive setting and a long history of pilgrimage and public gathering.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Tobar Bríde · Irish · main form · validated name
- Brideswell · English · main form
Place & story
The village around the green
Samuel Lewis recorded 130 inhabitants at Brideswell in 1837. Its houses stood around a level green, and it had both a dispensary and a constabulary station. The spring was already central to his description: he noted a building beside it, a doorway leading towards the water and an inscription with a coat of arms. His account also records the suppression by Catholic clergy of a formerly celebrated patron festival, showing that the gathering’s history included interruption as well as continuity. [2]
The Earl of Antrim’s enclosure
The parish history identifies Sir Randal MacDonnell, first Earl of Antrim, with the bathing enclosure erected at the well in 1625. It describes his patronage as an act of gratitude for favours associated with the spring. Lewis likewise linked the dated inscription and arms with the Earl’s work. The structure therefore records a named seventeenth-century benefactor at a pilgrimage place whose reputation extended beyond its immediate neighbourhood. Claims of miraculous healing belong to the site’s devotional history. [3] [2]
Pattern Sunday
Brideswell’s pattern honours Saint Brigid. The parish records the gathering on the last Sunday of July, with Mass celebrated at the well annually since 1957. It also points to earlier documentary evidence: an indulgence for pilgrims in 1661 and a 1731 report of large crowds on the festival day. These distinct records give the celebration a chronology across several centuries, without establishing uninterrupted observance throughout that period. The well remains the focus of the religious gathering described by the parish. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Roscommon
- Barony
- Athlone South
- Civil parish
- Cam
- Coordinates
- 53.45504, -8.09033 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414634 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Brideswell. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Brideswell, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland1837 · Samuel Lewis
- Parish of Kiltoom and Cam: a brief history · Kiltoom and Cam Parish
- Hamrock's public house, Brideswell, County Roscommon illustration: based on a Brideswell village centre by Graham Horn. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.