PICTURES | Big day for Longford community as revamped Well officially opened in Ballycloghan

Use the Arrows < > above to go through the gallery

The official opening of the newly revamped Joe Cox’s Well in Ballycloghan, Carrickboy took place on Saturday afternoon last.

Secretary of the Ballycloghan and Carrickboy Development Association Noeleen Doyle outlined that they also unveiled a commemorative plaque during the event in dedication to 'Joe Cox and Bernie Hogan two great community men'. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO

Ballycloghan Well is fondly known as Joe Cox’s Well as it sprung from his land.

Detailing the history of the well Noeleen stated that ‘’according to local resident Joe Conway there were eight houses taking water from the well. It served the everyday domestic chores of these houses from making tea, the washing of vegetables grown in the gardens to the washing of clothes when there was no rain water.”

She added that the well ‘’was not just a place to draw water from, it was a place people would meet and chat and was a well known location for the young to meet to court. Sometimes a five minute job in drawing a bucket of water could take an hour or two if a potential court was on the cards.”

The well would have also been a water source for the potatoes that people would sow on the land, it was a particularly important resource during blight season.

In the summer when the warm weather caused the water levels in the well to drop Noeleen said the men from the area would remove the remaining water from the well and it would get a good cleaning and a bag of lime would be applied to the base and the walls.

The well was unused for many years until recently when the Ballycloghan and Carrickboy Development Association made the decision to revamp it due to the significance it has to the local community.

Local stonemasons Seamus Ross and Paddy Oates were appointed to create a design for the refurbishment of the well.
Noeleen stated with the support of the Longford County Council, BMD and funding from LCRL/LCDC a very eye-catching well has been designed.

She also noted that special acknowledgement should be made to Brendan Quaine 'our engineer who worked on this project with us' and Brendan Quaine Snr 'for accommodating us with the upgrading'.

Noeleen concluded, “The well will not be used as a water source anymore; it will now be a place where members of the local community can visit to sit, catch up and admire the newly revamped piece dedicated to the memory of Joe Cox and Bernie Hogan.”