Sculpture cleaning at St Brigid's Well commenced
The long-awaited cleaning of the sculpture at St Brigid's Well in The Valley has begun, writes Brian Byrne. The work is being carried out by a specialist contractor, using methodology agreed with the National Monuments Service. Small repairs will also be done.
The sculpture depicting St Brigid feeding the poor, by the late Fr Henry Flanagan of Newbridge College, is built into the stonework above the well. It was commissioned by Kilcullen Community Council in 1977 when the well area was being built to what it is today as part of the development of the Valley Community Park.
Though records of the well being attributed to St Brigid go back to the Schools survey by the National Folklore Commission in the 1930s, and further, there are previous references to it as St Moling's Well.
Moling (614-696) was the second Archbishop of Ferns. Born in Brosna, Co Kerry, he is reputed to be buried at the former monastic settlement of St Mullins, Co Carlow. It's thought that the well may have been renamed in honour of St Brigid when the parish Church of the Sacred Heart and St Brigid was built in the late 1800s.
The refurbishment of the Fr Flanagan sculpture is being supervised by local conservation architect Laura Bowen, on behalf of Kilcullen Community Action.
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