Questioning the boatman

Questioning the boatman

Lough Derg--Vicinity--Purgatory--Travel guide

An account of the religious history of Lough Derg for the traveller.

J. B. Doyle

Tours in Ulster: A hand-book to the antiquities and scenery of the north of Ireland.
By J. B. Doyle. With numerous illustrations, chiefly from the author's sketch-book, pp. 361-62

Hodges and Smith, Dublin

1854

Digitised by Google, sponsored by New York Public Library, archived on Hathi Trust digital library

Public domain

Handbook

English

Travel guide

DD_0481

54.606912, -7.860865

"[Lough Derg] is still frequented by large numbers. Upon this subject the following edifying account was given me by a rustic whose office it was to visit the island twice a week with meat for the prior and his priests. Upon inquiring if many pilgrims visited the island now-a-days, he said, ‘Why yes, your honour, it never was so well attended before ; twice as many go there now as there used when I was a boy.’ I asked, ‘How do you account for this?’ He said, ‘Why, sir, it's hard to say, but I think this thing of the collery [cholera] has put an astonishment into people's minds, and put more religion into their hearts than ever they had, and this brings them from all parts to make their sowls, that's what I think.’

The following notes were made, verbatim, from the mouth of the boatman C M , who rowed me to the island along with my guide M C ; and as his account was accompanied with many edifying hints, his sincere belief in all he stated was very apparent. The truthfulness of his statements has since been verified by many testimonies."

396 p. illus. 17 cm.