On ground water, coat hangers, and a possible solution to Ireland's financial woes.

I was made aware of this from an episode of The Righteous Indignation podcast (ep. 74).  If you visit the Citizens Information website for the Government of Ireland, you can find lots of helpful information on a variety of topics, including drilling for a well if you are in a rural area not connected to a municipal water scheme.  This is the information given for establishing a private water supply:

Private water supplies (groundwater)

If you are not part of a water supply scheme (capital or group), you will have to consider boring your own well and drawing out groundwater to supply your needs. People have used water diviners to find out if there is groundwater beneath their land. However, even if a water diviner can tell you where to dig, he or she will not be able to tell you how deep you will have to drill or how much water you are likely to get. You can get this information from the Geological Survey of Ireland and it is usually free of charge.

You should check out the reputation of the well driller and make sure you get a written contract that specifies the terms and conditions of the drilling agreement before drilling begins. To determine how much water you will need, you should allow 230 litres (50 gallons) of water a day for each person in your household. The requirement for your livestock varies from about 140 litres (30 gallons) a day for a dairy cow to about 20 litres (4 gallons) a day for 100 chickens. You must be sure that your well will be able to provide your daily water needs without going dry. For more advice, you should contact your local authority.

When your well is drilled, you should seal it against pollution and make sure it is disinfected. After a few days, you should send a sample of disinfected water from your well to the local Health Service Executive (HSE) for testing. It will then let you know whether your well water is up to drinking standards. If you find out that your water supply has been polluted by negligence, you should contact your local authority. It can prosecute those responsible under theLocal Government (Water Pollution Act), 1977.

If you're wondering, no, you have not misread anything.  The official site for the Government of Ireland is saying the hiring of a diviner is a valid option when locating water on your property.  It's so very odd!  There is a lot of very useful information here about well dimensions, protection against pollution etc.  In fact, right after they mention divining, they say how you should contact the Geological Survey of Ireland, free of charge, to confirm the findings.  Why wouldn't you just go ahead and do that in the first place?  It's also interesting how they warn property owners to check out the reputation of the well driller.  Strange that such a warning was not extended to the silly man with the coat hangers ambling about your property muttering something about energies.  If the Irish government considers divining as a valid enterprise, it's a wonder why they haven't responded to the current financial troubles by organizing state sponsored hunting parties to locate, capture, and then shake down leprechauns for their gold.