While the debate over the quality of public water supplies in Kilkenny continues - it may be raised in the European Parliament - hundreds of local people are resorting to an ancient and apparently unlimited water source associated with a 6th-century local saint.
The county council and regional health officials are adamant that the public supply is safe and constantly monitored. However, daily, and especially at weekends, lines of people bring containers to fill up at Kennyswell, which is believed to have been constantly flowing for more than 1,500 years.
The holy well has been venerated since the city was first settled. Local historian Mr Sean Kenny explains that it is an ancient spring which was blessed by St Kenny, who ruled over the See of Ossory from AD 578 to AD 598.
The saint, who gave his name to the city, built a church where St Canice's Cathedral stands today. The well, which also bears his name, has been credited for many centuries with health-giving properties.
"They came from all over Ireland and were cured at the well, we're told," says Mr Kenny.
Mr Kenny was a member of the committee which restored the well two years ago. He says that in the 13th century the then Bishop of Ossory, Geoffrey de Tourville, gave the Dominicans of the Black Abbey the right to draw off the well water in defined quantities.
The charter granted to the Dominicans conceded them "the right of conveying water from this well to their house - as much water as would pass through a conduit with aperture not exceeding the diameter of his episcopal ring".
"The water is ice cold in the hottest days of summer and its clarity is unbelievable," says Mr Kenny.
He says the well is credited with curative powers, particularly for sore eyes or failing eyesight - the late Eamon de Valera once visited it for this reason and is recorded as having acknowledged some improvement in his eye ailment.
Residents of Kilkenny are now more concerned with the well's utility as a drinking-water source.
Those who go to the well say they save substantial amounts of money which they would otherwise spend on bottled mineral water to avoid using the city's tap water for drinking or making tea.
Mr Kenny is one of many unhappy with the public supply. But he adds: "This is not just a Kilkenny problem. The whole of Ireland is in a terrible state, the water is so bad."
The complaints about the water include discoloration, foul taste and excessive amounts of suspended matter.
Ms Ann Ryan, who has an electrical shop on High Street, says the problem is periodic.
"Every two or three weeks we have problems with the water. It's just not good enough."
She has taken action, keeping glass containers of the tap water on display in her shop. These attract considerable interest from visitors.
ONE local family has gone into the problem in great depth. Bernadette and Pat Grogan, who have five children, have had numerous samples of the water analysed, with the findings frequently indicating excessive amounts of aluminium and iron and high levels of chlorine.
They have used freedom of information legislation to gain access to the results of the health board's own analyses and have repeatedly contacted the Environmental Protection Agency and other authorities about the issue.
The Grogans now feel they are being portrayed as cranks because of their stance. They say their campaign has brought great pressure on them as a family, and for the moment they are reluctant to speak publicly about the matter.
Through the intervention of Carlow Green Party councillor Ms Mary White the analysis results and the correspondence are to be examined by Ms Nuala Ahern MEP with a view to raising the matter at European level if she feels the case merits it.
Ms White says: "EU directives are very clear on the constitutional rights of the citizen to clean water. I think people are really just looking for answers as to why they haven't had pure water over a number of years and why the levels of metals and chlorine are so high."
The county council, however, insists that the water is safe and believes that some of the samples which have recently given rise to concern may have been taken at a time when the system was being flushed out and public warnings had been issued.
Mr John McCormack, acting county secretary, points out that since an incident in 1996 the council has implemented a rigorous protocol of managing and monitoring the water quality throughout the supply network and at a treatment plant, which has had "quite substantial investment" over the last 18 months.
The South Eastern Health Board, which carries out clinical tests on the water on behalf of the council, also claims that it has not found any problems.
"If we had we would have issued a boil notice," said a spokeswoman. "We have doubled the testing. We test it every week." Whatever the truth of the matter, more and more Kilkenny people are resorting to the holy well, which has been part of the city's history for so long.
As a precaution, it has also been tested by the health board and, not surprisingly after so many centuries of use, the water quality proved satisfactory.