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to him that Jocelyn’s legend, though of but little or no value for the 
biographical matter relating to St. Patrick, must be taken to be of con- 
siderable interest, not only as containing topoSraphical notices of the 
wells attributed to St. Patrick, but also of the localities in which they 
existed. And further, as the legend, when published by Jocelyn in the 
twelfth century, must have conformed to the local traditions ofthe day, 
it might be taken as evidence bearing upon the topography of Dublin and 
its environs for probably one hundred years earlier. As it also appeared 
that there were topographical matters in the legend as it now stands, 
which could not have been in it in the twelfth century, as these were 
not older than the fifteenth or sixteenth century, it was clear that these 
had been inserted in the text by a late editor. So that, making all ju- 
dicious allowances and corrections in the text of Jocelyn’s manuscript 
which legitimate criticism would allow, we have in it, in the absence 
of all other testimony, an outline of a concurrent testimony, as to certain 
topographical matters relating to Dublin and its vicinity, extending 
over a period of nearly 500 years, or from the tenth to the fifteenth 
century, though the incidents in the legend should have, if real, occurred 
in the fourth. 
The perfect adaptation of the topographical parts mentioned in the 
legend with those now existing in, and which must have existed near 
the site of the old city of Dublin before the low lands on the north side 
of the Liffey were reclaimed, led Mr. Clibborn to take the text of Jo- 
celyn’s legend to be a correct statement, as to other topographical facts 
which we could not now confirm; such as the existence of one or more 
of the ancient wells, which, it would appear from the legend, existed in 
or near Dublin. 
There could be no mistake about the existence of a well called 
after St. Patrick, at Finglas, for such existed; but the legend said no- 
thing about that well; yet it made it probable that a legend had ex- 
isted in reference to that well, as well as to the locality of Finglas. ‘The 
legend goes a step further ; for it allows us to infer, that the woman at 
Ath-cliath, who complained to St. Patrick of the badness of the water 
there, had heard of his producing a well at Finglas, or somewhere 
else. And thus, as it were, she was led to put it upon the Saint to 
prove his power at Ath-cliath, by making another well there, as he 
had at Finglas, or wherever else it had been mentioned that he had mi- 
raculously produced a good spring well—an event which the legend- 
writer appears to have considered of such minor interest, compared with 
the production of the two great wells or fountains of Dublin, that he 
has not noticed it at all. 
As to the position of one of the two great wells attributed to St. 
Patrick in the legend, i.e. the northern well of Dublinia, it must have 
been at or near Ath-cliath; but as Ath-cliath was within a mile of a 
certain position on the Finglas road, from which the site of that village 
and of the city of Dublin could have been first seen by a person coming 
towards Dublin from the north; and as the limit of inhabitable or un- 
R. I. A. PROC.—VOL, VII. 2a 
