The Pilgrims of Lough Derg (4)

"I'd always promised myself I'd come after my Leaving Cert. But I live in southern Ireland — it's a four-hour drive — and I never knew how I'd actually get here.

Then I met a woman who brought a busload of pilgrims up from Limerick every year. I asked if I could come with her. She tried to explain what it was like, but it didn't make a lot of sense. So I just came anyway. And I've come back every year since.

I love the peace of it. I love the way it works like a delete button for your head. The calmness. The nothingness. Nothing here except the island — surrounded by water, completely isolated.

Every year is different. Every year something happens — something funny, something unexpected. I've met the most amazing people here.

Every year I say it'll be my last. I've just spent 36 hours up fasting in my bare feet, thinking — why am I doing this?
​
But I know when I leave tomorrow, it'll all be worth it."