The pilgrimage has Saint Patrick as its patron because of his association with the monastery founded at the lake a few decades after the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The Island is variously called Lough Derg (Lake of the Cave), Purgatorium Sancti Patricci (St Patrick’s Sanctuary or Purgatory). Today it is known simply as Lough Derg.
Rare early Lafreri School map of Ireland, published in Italy about 1560.
The map is oriented with south at the top, with a small portion of the Scottish coast shown at the top left.
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Map of Station Island and its penitential stations by Thomas Carve in 1666. "Caverna Purgatory" on the map is the site of the actual cave.
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It survives today as a living remnant of the early Irish Church. Historical records date the foundation of the holy Island in Lough Derg back to the 5th Century. History points to there probably being a religious presence around Lough Derg before the time of Saint Patrick and that it was common for Christians to seek to supplant pagan sites with foundations of their own. A Druidic presence near the lake would explain why a monastery came to be founded here.
The monastery was founded on Saints Island, adjacent to Station Island where pilgrims make their pilgrimage. Saint’s Island is the location of the early monastery in the 400s. This island is overgrown and not accessible today. Station Island is the place of the famous pilgrimage, it is named Station Island, after the ‘stations’ - the rounds of prayers that later came to characterise the pilgrimage.
The monastery was founded on Saints Island, adjacent to Station Island where pilgrims make their pilgrimage. Saint’s Island is the location of the early monastery in the 400s. This island is overgrown and not accessible today. Station Island is the place of the famous pilgrimage, it is named Station Island, after the ‘stations’ - the rounds of prayers that later came to characterise the pilgrimage.
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