Tag Archives: Fountain

Get It Fresh

Tucked down a minor rural road, the Stroan Fountain, County Kilkenny was for a long time thought to date from the third quarter of the 18th century: a damaged inscription carries the numerals 66, leading to speculation that these were preceded by 17. However, the rest of the legible text notes that the fountain had been ‘erected by subscription by permission of the Landlord Gervase Bushe. Designed and arranged by Thomas Seigne.’ Bushe was resident at the nearby Kilfane estate, where Seigne acted as land agent from c.1830 to c.1870. The structure comprises a limestone basin covered with a dome on top of which sits an obelisk; by means of a buried pipe, the fountain is fed from a cistern approximately 40 metres to the north-west. The cistern is in turn fed by a natural spring. Three stone steps provide access to the fountain and its two outlets, one for filling barrels placed on a donkey and cart and the other for buckets placed on a pair of stones. By the start of the present century, the fountain and its surroundings had fallen into disrepair but thanks to a number of organisations including a local heritage society, the county council and the Follies Trust, it was underwent restoration in 2010.

Swallowed Up


An overlooked feature of Collon, County Louth: this limestone water fountain on the town’s main street. As the inscription says, it was a gift of the late Reverend Alexander Bradford. For many years he had served as curate of the parish, the income of which was enjoyed by the Rev Daniel Beaufort (see
https://theirishaesthete.com/2016/11/12/a-man-of-taste-and-literature/). Beaufort died in 1821 and Bradford was finally able to become Collon’s Rector. Alas, he wasn’t able to enjoy the position for long as he also died the following year, so this fountain was his most lasting legacy.  Its late Gothic form reflects that of the adjacent church, designed by Beaufort in the style of King’s College, Cambridge. Presumably the water originally came out of the mouth of a brass lion, but as the street level changed, an alternative outlet was inserted, one made by the Kennedy Patent Water Valve Company (founded in 1863). Today the lion looks distinctly perturbed to find himself at risk of being swalloped up by tarmacadam.

The Wellspring of Health

Kentstown water 3

On the road leading from Kentstown to Balrath, County Meath can be seen this drinking fountain which, as the inscription explains, was erected by Sir William Somerville in 1855. Look at the way creeping moss has extended the lion’s beard all the way to the basin. The water for this amenity comes from a well some miles distant from which, according to ancient legend, St Patrick drank while on his way from Slane to Tara.
Sir William Somerville (1802-1873) was a Liberal politician who served as Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1847-1852; just over a decade later he was made a peer as Lord Athlumney. The fountain is set into the demesne wall of what was once his family seat, also called Somerville.