It is traditionally believed that a monastic settlement was founded on the nearby Saint’s Island (formerly St. Dabheog's Island) in the fifth century by St. Patrick who installed Dabheoc as the first abbot (see…
"An inquisition taken at Donegal in the 1st year of [James I in 1603] may throw some light upon the time of this removal: In the parts of Ulster near the territory calle O'Donnell's Countrie, are the walls and monuments of a certain Monastery or…
"This shews that Saints island is the one on which the monastery, because the present station does not contain 10 acres. There is however a mistake in the phrase 'in media lacus' for Saints island is very near the land…"
"Many pilgrims surveying the crowds during the night vigil promise themselves that, on their following night of freedom, they will look down from their cubicle windows at the fascination of the scene, when the people emerge and group themselves in…
"The stone circles [of the Penitential Beds] are small. When this sanctuary was demolished in the seventeenth century the despoilers left only the rude foundation stones protruding from the soil..."