Drinking the "wine" of Lough Derg

Drinking the "wine" of Lough Derg

Lough Derg--Pilgrimage--Cauldron--Water

“‘I was considerably surprised when, upon my remarking, that with only one meal of bread and water in twenty four-hours, the pilgrims must become faint, the women with whom I was speaking, said, “Oh, no! the wine revives us, and gives us strength.”...'"

Philip Dixon Hardy, 1794-1875

Hardy, Philip Dixon, The Holy Wells of Ireland : Containing an Authentic Account of Those Various Places of Pilgrimage and Penance Which Are Still Annually Visited by Thousands of the Roman Catholic Peasantry. With a Minute Description of the Patterns and Stations Periodically Held in Various Districts of Ireland, p. 16

Hardy & Walker, Dublin

1840

Digitised by archive.org, sponsored by Boston Public Library

Public domain

Monograph

English

Holy wells

Text

DD_0018

54.6083, -7.8714

http://archive.org/details/holywellsofirela00hard

From Mr. Inglis's "A Journey throughout Ireland” in 1834.

“I was considerably surprised when, upon my remarking, that with only one meal of bread and water in twenty four-hours, the pilgrims must become faint, the women with whom I was speaking, said, 'Oh, no! the wine revives us, and gives us strength.'

'Wine!' said I ; 'then you have wine : who pays for the wine?' 'Oh,' said she, 'it costs nothing ; but I see your honour doesn’t understand'. And then she explained to me the pleasant contrivance by which the pilgrims are regaled with wine, free of expense to them of any body else. The water of the lake is boiled, and, being blessed, is called wine ; and it is given to the faint and greedy pilgrims as hot as they are able to swallow it. One of the women showed me her lips, covered with blisters from the heat of the 'wine' she had drunk ; and, no longer doubt of the fillip it must give to one’s sensations, to have some half boiling water poured into an empty stomach. I was assured the effect was wonderful ; and I well believe it.”

Monograph