"I remember a strange Easter Sunday spent on Saints' Island, not indeed with any hope of finding archaeological confirmation of its history, but simply in communing with the past..."
"Early in the ninth century, an ominous cloud appeared in the north, which was presently to overcast all such fair scenses as that presented by Saints' Island..."
"Think of [Saint Patrick] located somewhere near Templecarne for several months and thus surrounded. The lake would certainly invite him with its promise of refuge and sanctuary..."
"Do not visit Saints' Island with expectation of finding carved stones, a clear ground plan of ancient buildings, or examples of early Christian masonry..."
It is traditionally believed that a monastic settlement was founded here in the fifth century by St. Patrick who installed Dabheoc as the first abbot. There are forty-six islands in Lough Derg but only two of them are of archaeological interest. The…
