"He always looked for the most inaccessible place in every district"

"He always looked for the most inaccessible place in every district"

Lough Derg--Pilgrimage--Description--Alice Curtayne

"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..."

Alice Curtayne, 1898-1981

Curtayne, Alice, Lough Derg: St. Patrick’s Purgatory, p. 7

Burns Oats and Washbourn, Ltd., London and Dublin

1944

Citation for the purposes of criticism

Monograph

English

History

DD_0118

54.572777, -7.840470

"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. It was inevitable that he should escape to it. The island on which Saint Patrick's Purgatory is now located happens to be the island farthest away from the mainland no matter from what point of the shore it is approached. This is the very island he would naturally choose. He always looked for the most inaccessible place in every district, like the top of Croagh Patrick, enough to daunt the most enthusiastic 'fans'! He had to make sure that he would be absolutely alone. The tradition that he visited this island is continuous since his time, universal in the Irish Church, and peculiarly circumstantial."

Monograph