Penitential Pilgrims in Prayer on St. Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg
Round Lough Derg’s holy island I went upon the stones,
I prayed at all the Stations upon my matrow-bones,
And there I found an old man beside me, nothing would he say
‘But fol de rol de rolly O.’
(W.B. Yeats – The Pilgrim)
St. Patrick’s Purgatory, more commonly referred to as Lough Derg because of its location in the lake of the same name in Co Donegal, is a pilgrimage site which dates back to the fifth century. Since then, uninterrupted for over 1,500 years, it has been a place of Christian pilgrimage and prayer. The pilgrimage takes place on Station Island, and it has St. Patrick as its patron. The original monastery on Saints Island in the same lake claimed St Davog, one of Patrick’s disciples, as its founder abbot. Station Island – the name refers to the practice of penitential devotions – was the place apart to which the monks could withdraw for more intense prayer. Monastic hospitality welcomed penitents and devout Christians as pilgrims to Lough Derg.
Lough Derg, today is a penitential pilgrimage where people go for three days to pray, fast, and deprive themselves of sleep for a full night and staying awake into the next day. Not for the faint-hearted.
The twentieth century blows across it now
But deeply it has kept an ancient vow
as Patrick Kavanagh reminds us in his poem on this ancient pilgrimage.
I read recently that “Jesus fed 5,000 but only 500 followed him after lunch. He had 12 disciples but only 3 went further in the garden, an only 1 stood with him at the Cross. The closer you get to the Cross, the smaller the crowd gets.” Central to the Gospel of Jesus is the command to his followers to take up the Cross and follow Him! Tough talking. The less demanding aspects of faith can be more palatable and easier to buy-in to. However, when in involves proactively taking up and embracing aspects of suffering that is truly a different story. Like the winter dose of cod-liver oil!
Core to all the major religions is the call to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Central to so many aspects of success in life is strict discipline, focus, cutting away what is not necessary in order to focus on what matters. No pain, no gain, it is said.
Lough Derg, in Donegal is the Iron-man of Pilgrimages. I’m not aware of any other pilgrimage of similar nature that involves a multiple day commitment and has penitential exercises as the main activity. The great sociologist, campaigner and man of faith, Fr. Michéal Mac Gréill often said in referring to Patrician Pilgrimages that Lough Derg was the most penitential, Croagh Patrick the most physical, but Máméan in the Maamturk Mountains was the most spiritual.
Penitential, spiritual practices were part of life in the Celtic monastery on Saints Island, and into the early medieval period and beyond. They still still live on in the current day Three Day Pilgrimage from June to August each year.
In this remote, ruggedly beautiful out-of-the-way location, keeping vigil, frugal fare to eat and drink, sustained vocal prayer, immediate contact with nature and weather is the order of the day. Bodily prayer practices – kneeling, standing, walking barefoot on the cold earth, praying with arms extended in the shape of the cross is par for the course.
Despite the challenges listed above I’m not quite sure what allures me back every year along with the annual 10,000 or so other participating pilgrims. A complete de-tox is one way to describe it. For three days, many of the usual distractions of life do not exist. Social media, television, hectic schedules, noise, traffic. Decluttering of the mind, the body, the spirit. Fasting in order feast as we return to the routine of our daily lives. There is a fundamental equality among all pilgrims on the island. Nobody gets preferential treatment. Apart from the bells, calling to prayer, the liturgical music, the banter of newly acquired friends sharing temporary misery and discomfort there is no noise interrupting the ritual and routine of the prayer cycle of the Holy Island, hallowed in prayer for centuries.
Many pilgrims there have the time and interest to be tuned into and empathetic to the outer and inner struggle of each other. I am indebted to one of our group who asked me how I was coping since the passing of my Dad whose funeral I celebrated recently. My response. in gratitude was that he lived a good life and got a great send-off. She sharply reminded me that was not the question she asked. A timely remark that profited me much for those treasured days in this sacred place, seeking solace and meaning in the place steeped in the prayers of so many gone before.
✠ Fintan Monahan is Bishop of Killaloe
Clare Champion Article – August 16th, 2024