Some historians claim that the well got its name from the Pagan Sun-God Silvanus. The local priests prefer to connect the well's origins to Bishop Silvester of St. Patrick's time.
It is also possible that the early Normans, being of Frenc origin, dedicated the well to Pope Sylvester 11, the first French Pope of the 10th Century.
The well is generally referred to, locally, as the Sunday Well, from the fact that the water is said to have first appeared on a Sunday.
All agree that the local Church of St. Sylvester takes its title from the well and not vice-versa.
