St Patrick's Purgatory is an ancient
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
site on Station Island in
Lough Derg,
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, Ireland. According to legend, the site dates from the fifth century, when Christ showed
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
a cave, sometimes referred to as a
pit or a
well
A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
, on
Station Island that was an entrance to
Purgatory
In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
.
Its importance in medieval times is clear from the fact that it is mentioned in texts from as early as 1185 and shown on maps from all over Europe as early as the fifteenth century. It is the only Irish site designated on
Martin Behaim
Martin Behaim (6 October 1459 – 29 July 1507), also known as and by various forms of , was a German textile merchant and cartographer. He served John II of Portugal as an adviser in matters of navigation and participated in a voyage to Wes ...
's world map of 1492.
Location
In the nineteenth century there was some confusion about the actual site of St Patrick's Purgatory—whether it was on Station Island or Saints Island on Lough Derg, County Donegal. For instance the early nineteenth-century Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland (1837–42) locate the Purgatory on Saints Island. However, its location on Station Island is a tradition that continues unbroken from the Middle Ages. It is clearly indicated on documents dating from that time, and it appears as "Caverna Purgatory" on the detailed
map
A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...
of Station Island in
Sir James Ware's ''De Hibernia'' (1654) and Fr.
Thomas Carve's book, ''Lyra Hibernica'' (1666).
Foundation
Legend maintains that St. Patrick had grown discouraged by the doubts of his potential converts, who told him they would not believe his teachings until they had substantial proof. St. Patrick prayed that God would help him relate the Word of God and convert the Irish people, and in return, God revealed to him a pit in the ground, which he called Purgatory; by showing this place to the people, they would believe all that he said. By witnessing Purgatory, the people would finally know the reality of the joys of heaven and the torments of hell.
Given the sparsity of any documentation for fifth-century Ireland, it is not surprising that there is no proof that St. Patrick ever visited Lough Derg. And while this is the legend, it is a rather late legend dating probably from the twelfth century. There is however a much more firmly established tradition regarding
St. Dabheog or Dabheoc, a local abbot who presided over, and possibly established, the monastery on the site during the lifetime of Patrick. His name has been associated from these early centuries with several places in the area, for instance: St. Dabheoc's Chair on the south bank of Lough Derg, the townland of Seedavoc (St. Dabheoc's Seat), and a mountain in that townland, Seadavog Mountain. One of the islands in Lough Derg was also named after him: St. Dabheoc's Island, which may have been Saints Island or another island entirely.
Cave
Although the cave has been closed since 25 October 1632, several descriptions by early pilgrims survive. They referred to it as a cave or cellar or as an enclosed pit. The entrance, which was kept closed and locked, was quite narrow: about 0.6 m (2 ft) wide and 0.9 m (3 ft) high. Once inside there was a short descent of about six steps. The cave was divided into two parts: the first was about 3 m (9 ft) long, probably with banked sides and only high enough to kneel in; after a turn there was another niche about 1.5 m (5 ft) long.
Since the site has never been excavated, we can only rely at this point on these descriptions of the cave. However based on other archaeological excavations it seems clear that this was probably an ancient structure. Some have suggested a
souterrain
''Souterrain'' (from French ', meaning "subterrain", is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age.
These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul d ...
, a place for storing crops and animals. However, the size of the cave would make this seem very unlikely. A much more plausible suggestion is that it was one of the ancient sweat houses, which were actually still in use in Ireland into the twentieth century. From modern practice we know that people would enter these small enclosed places to inhale medicinal smoke produced by burning various plants. The name "purgatorium" could possibly have been used here originally with its Latin meaning as a place for cleansing and purging—much like a modern sauna; especially since the modern notion of "purgatory" as a place for punishment in the afterlife did not come into common use until the thirteenth century. The cave would then have been a place that people went to for physical or spiritual healing, even before it became associated with St. Patrick in the twelfth century as a place for strictly spiritual healing.
Monastery and its functions

A
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
probably existed on the islands in Lough Derg from the fifth century and it probably included
anchorite
In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress); () is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, Asceticism , ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anchorit ...
s who lived in beehive cells—which may be preserved in some form in the penitential beds that can still be seen on Station Island.
Around 1130 the monastery was given to Augustinian
Canons Regular
The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...
by the authority of the cathedral in
Armagh
Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
, under
Saint Malachy
Malachy (; ; Modern ; ) (11th century in Ireland, 1094 – 2 November 1148 in Ireland, 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to t ...
. The monastery on Saints Island offered hospitality to pilgrims, who would visit in a spirit of penance and prayer. It also served as a place where pilgrims could prepare themselves for visiting the Purgatory. Documents report that pilgrims who did want to visit the Purgatory would arrive with letters of permission from a bishop, either from their own region or from Armagh. They would then spend fifteen days fasting and praying to prepare themselves for the visit to Station Island, a short boat ride away. At the end of the fifteen days, pilgrims would confess their sins, receive communion and undergo a few final rituals before being locked in the cave for twenty-four hours. The next morning the prior would open the door, and if the pilgrim were found alive, he would be brought back to Saints Island for another fifteen days of prayer and fasting.
From the time of St. Dabheoc, it appears that this region attracted pilgrims from far and wide. By the twelfth century they came from all over continental Europe, most likely sailing from England and landing at Dublin or Drogheda. From those ports they would make their way by foot, stopping at monasteries along the way on what would probably be a two-week journey across the Irish countryside to their destination. In this period many sinners and criminals were sent on pilgrimage to atone for their deeds and seek forgiveness. St. Patrick's Purgatory would be a likely destination for these penitential pilgrims, or exiles, since communities of anchorites were often considered to have special power to absolve them.
Route to Lough Derg
Based on the description left by the fifteenth-century pilgrim,
Guillebert of Lannoy, it is possible to trac
the medieval pilgrimage route reported in 1430, from
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
to
Kells along the
Boyne River, most likely stopping at
Mellifont
Mellifont Abbey (, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of Kells-Mellifont. After i ...
,
Slane and Donaghmore, staying at monasteries, as was the usual custom for medieval travelers of any type. From there he headed northwest toward
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...
, which he calls Rousseaumoustier. Here a duke lends him a boat so that he and his companions could travel up
Lough Erne
Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...
, most likely stopping at
Devenish,
Inishmacsaint
Inishmacsaint () is a monastery located on an island off the western shore of Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the ...
and
White Island. Along this route he would have also passed by the important monastery of
Drumlane.
1497
At the 31st Irish Conference of Medievalists (2017) has been presented a new hypothesis for the historical reconstruction of the so-called first "closure" of the pilgrimage which is thought to have occurred in the late 15th century. The ''
Acta Sanctorum
''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...
'' contains a document in which the closure is attributed to the denunciation of a Dutch monk, who had been to Lough Derg and subsequently traveled to the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
, where he accused the pilgrimage's organizers (including the bishop and the prior) of
simony
Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...
. According to P. Taviani that document is a fake, forged by someone who never had been to Lough Derg and who imagined St. Patrick Purgatory to be akin to St Patrick's Well in Orvieto (Italy). The Pope would never have ordered the closure of the pilgrimage, and in fact this never happened. In fact, the documents do not claim that the pilgrimage nor the Purgatory were closed down, but simply that "the cave…was broken" and "that site of fallacy" was destroyed, indicating that the false cave that the canon visited was destroyed and closed. According to Taviani, the true story is that in 1497 it was
Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa
Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa (February 1439 – March 1498) was an Irish historian. He was the principal compiler of the ''Annals of Ulster'', along with the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín. He was also chief of the McManus clan from 1488 to 1498.
Refere ...
(at the time active as a bishop of the
Diocese of Clogher), encouraged by the Guardian of the Franciscan Observant
Donegal Abbey, who wanted to radically change the course of the pilgrimage. The promise of a journey to the underworld could no longer be sustained. To ensure the survival of the pilgrimage, it was necessary to turn it into an event purely concerned with penitence. In order to overcome any potential opposition to this radical change, a fictitious Papal order was conceived.
The monastery was then dissolved in 1632, although the local lord apparently allowed the monks to remain. By 1710 the Franciscans were present on the island in the summer to administer to the needs of the pilgrims. They built a church, St. Mary of the Angels, on Station Island in 1763. In 1785, administration of Station Island came into the hands of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher
The Diocese of Clogher (, ; , ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Ireland. It was formed in 1111 at the Synod of Rathbreasail as the see for the Kingdom of Uí Chremthainn. It is part of the Province of Armagh.
The original ...
.
Shane Leslie gave
freehold of the island to the diocese in 1960, and was made a
Knight Commander of St Gregory by
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
in recognition.
Modern pilgrimage
There is no evidence that the pilgrimage to St. Patrick's Purgatory was ever interrupted for any period of time and, more than fifteen hundred years on, it continues in the present times. Every year the main pilgrimage season begins in late May/early June and ends mid-August, on the 15th, the feast of the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows:
It leaves open the question of w ...
. It is a three-day pilgrimage open to pilgrims of all religions, or none, who must be at least fifteen years of age, in good health and able to walk and kneel unaided. Pilgrims, who should begin fasting at the previous midnight, assemble at the Visitor Centre on the shore of Lough Derg early in the day (between about 10 am and 1 pm). From there a boat ferries them on the brief trip out to Station Island. Once on the island they are assigned a dormitory room, and barefoot they begin a specified and almost continuous cycle of prayer and liturgies.
These prayers – the Our Father (or
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...
), the
Hail Mary
The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...
and the
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith".
"Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...
(all included in a booklet they receive)— are carried out at designated 'stations' on the island, including six 'beds' that are the remains of ancient cells or
beehive huts, named for famous – principally Irish – saints. These are thought to be the remains of early
monastic cells.
Pilgrims spend the first night in the island's basilica in prayer, and only on the second night can they finally sleep in the dormitory. Each day on the island the pilgrims have one simple meal of dry toast, oatcakes and black tea or coffee. On the third morning they are ferried back to the mainland, where they will continue their fast until midnight.
There are also other programs throughout the year, including Quiet Days, Family Days, and One-Day Retreats.
The site is under the stewardship of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher
The Diocese of Clogher (, ; , ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Ireland. It was formed in 1111 at the Synod of Rathbreasail as the see for the Kingdom of Uí Chremthainn. It is part of the Province of Armagh.
The original ...
. The staff includes people who can help with both spiritual and practical concerns. Facilities include a kitchen, laundry, first-aid station and book/gift shop.
The pilgrimage did not place in 2020 or 2021 because of the
social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland has had far-reaching consequences in the country that go beyond the spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019, disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic o ...
. It reopened in 2022 with a "Pilgrim Shelter Museum" as a new addition.
Literature
''
Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii'' is a twelfth-century account in Latin of a pilgrimage to St Patrick's Purgatory.
Marie de France
Marie de France (floruit, fl. 1160–1215) was a poet, likely born in France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of Kin ...
translated it into French and expanded it into the ''
Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick''. A
verse drama
Verse drama is any drama written significantly in poetry, verse (that is: with line endings) to be performed by an actor before an audience. Although verse drama does not need to be ''primarily'' in verse to be considered verse drama, significan ...
about the shrine was composed by Spanish
national poet
A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...
Pedro Calderon de la Barca. A
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
English translation survives by Irish poet
Denis Florence MacCarthy.
Other medieval works include The Knight of Hungary, or George Grissophan, Provençal, mid-fourteenth century; the Vision of Louis of France ''(Visio Ludovici de Francia),'' French, 1358; the Vision of Ramón de Perellós, Catalan, 1397; The Vision of William Staunton, English, after 1409; and the Vision of Laurent Rathold de Pasztho, 1411. A fascinating account of a visit to Lough Derg by Catalan pilgrim Ramón de Perellós in 1397 is given in Haren and de Pontfarcy's book., along with several other pilgrims' accounts. A more detailed description of 'the cave' of St Patrick's Purgatory was provided by the accomplished seventeenth-century Irish historian,
Sir James Ware, in his work ''De Hibernia'' (1654, 2nd ed. 1658) where the map originates.
''
Station Island'' is a long poem written by
Séamus Heaney about his experience of the pilgrimage: it is part of a collection of the same name (published 1984). Other well-known poets, such as
Denis Devlin and
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...
wrote works on St. Patrick's Purgatory as well. "The Lough Derg Pilgrim" by the Irish writer
William Carleton recounts his experience there, which led him to abandon thoughts of becoming a Roman Catholic priest; he converted to the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
.
Pete McCarthy's visit in 1998 is described in ''McCarthy's Bar''.
''
Froissart's Chronicles
Froissart's ''Chronicles'' (or ''Chroniques'') are a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart. The ''Chronicles'' open with the events leading up to the deposition of Edward II in 1327, and cover t ...
'' mentions it in Book Four, Froissart Revisits England.
Rabelais's
Gargantua
''La vie tres horrifique du grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel jadis composée par M. Alcofribas abstracteur de quinte essence. Livre plein de Pantagruelisme'' according to 's 1542 edition, or simply Gargantua, is the second novel by François ...
bawdily refers to it as "Saint Patrick's hole".
'The Pilgrim', by
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
is centred on the pilgrimage to Station Island.
Pilgrims
Since the records were destroyed in 1632, we have no way of knowing exactly how many people made the pilgrimage each year in those days. However, since that time, records are available; and we know, for example, that in 1700, 5,000 pilgrims were recorded for the season; by 1826 the number of pilgrims grew to 15,000, and to 30,000 by 1846, just before the onset of the
Great Famine. From 1871 to 1903 approximately 3,000 pilgrims visited annually; and from 1908 to 1921, the number averaged over 8,000. From 1929 to the end of the century the number never fell below 10,000 pilgrims, and in many years was twice, and sometimes thrice, that number. In 2011, 8,000 people completed the pilgrimage.
Notable pilgrims include:
* Georgius Ungarus, also George Crissaphan or George Grissaphan (Krizsafán fia György, in
Hungarian), knight in the army of
Louis I of Hungary
Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...
*
Malatesta Ungaro, Italian
condottiero
Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...
*
Laurence Rathold of Pászthó or Laurentius Tar (Tar Lőrinc, in Hungarian), a courtier in the court of
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
of Luxembourg, king of Hungary – the report of his pilgrimage: "memoriale super visitatione Domini Laurencii Ratholdi militis et baronis Ungariae factum de purgatorio sancti Patricii in insula Hiberniae" (in Hungaria
*
Jan I van Brederode, a vazal of count
William VI of Holland visit the island site in 1399
*
Guillebert de Lannoy, a chamberlain to the duke of Burgundy and knight of the
Golden Fleece, made the pilgrimage in 1430.
* Francesco Chiericati,
papal nuncio
An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...
, visited the site in 1522
*
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
–
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
*
Frank Duff – Founder of the
Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary (, post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve on a Voluntary association, voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Roman Catholic ...
*
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...
– Poet
There are thirty-three pilgrims to St. Patrick's Purgatory between c. 1146 and 1517 who can be identified by name. Thirty-two are listed in Haren and de Pontfarcy;
Haren & De Pontfarcy
pp. 5–6. Francesco Chiericati saw the name of the 33rd, Guarino da Durazzo, in a book on Station Island during his visit, before all of the records on St. Patrick's Purgatory were presumably destroyed on 25 October 1632.
Further reading
* Cunningham, John B.
Lough Derg, Legendary Pilgrimage.
' Monaghan, Ireland: R. & S. Printers, 1984. A history of Lough Derg and its institutions.
* Di Fonzo, Claudia, The Legend of the Purgatory of Saint Patrick: From Ireland to Dante and Beyond, ALLEGORICA: TRADITIONS AND INFLUENCES IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN LITERATURE (Saint Louis University), vol. 26 (2009–2010), pp. 44–81.
* Flynn, Laurence J.
Lough Derg, County Donegal: St. Patrick's Purgatory.
' ublin ason
was a hereditary noble title in Japan, used mainly between the Asuka and Heian periods. At first, it was the second highest, below '' Mahito'', which was given to members of the Imperial family, but after the Heian period it became the highes ...
1987. A brief, illustrated history.
* Harbison, Peter, and Joss Lynam
''Lough Derg: The Shore by Saints Island, Co. Donegal.''
The Heritage Council of Ireland. Kilkenny: Heritage Council, 2004. A walking guide along the old pilgrim's path around the southern shore of Lough Derg.
* Haren, Michael, and Yolande de Pontfarcy, eds
''The Medieval Pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg and the European Tradition.''
Enniskillen: Clogher Historical Society, 1988. A collection of important essays.
* Gardiner, Eileen
''Visions of Heaven and Hell before Dante.''
New York: Italica Press, 1989. Includes text of the ”Vision of Owein,“ based on the version in Roger of Wendover's ''Chronicle,'' plus other related visions.
* Gardiner, Eileen
''The Pilgrim's Way to St. Patrick's Purgatory.''
New York: Italica Press, 2010. Lays out a route for the modern pilgrim from Dublin to Lough Derg, visiting the important medieval monuments along the route, with full descriptions of Station and Saints Islands.
* Leslie, Shane, ed.
Saint Patrick’s Purgatory: A Record from History and Literature
'' London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1932; rpt. Dublin: Colm Ó Lochlainn, at the Sign of the Three Candles, 1961. An early and thorough study by the man who owned the lake and surrounding property.
* McGuinness, Joseph.
Saint Patrick's Purgatory, Lough Derg.
' Dublin: Columba Press, 2000. A history of the site.
References
*
External links
Official Web Site
The Pilgrim's Way to St. Patrick's Purgatory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick's Purgatory, Saint
Purgatory
In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
Basilica churches in the Republic of Ireland
Caves of the Republic of Ireland
Religion in County Donegal
Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites in Ireland
Tourist attractions in County Donegal