Hundreds of pilgrims sailed in a flotilla of boats across Clew Bay to the holy island of Caher for the annual pilgrimage that was once part of the ancient Croagh Patrick penitent circuit.
Barely one mile in length and situated six miles to the south-west of Clare Island and three miles east of Inishturk, the island holds strong associations with St Patrick. According to lore, the Tochar Phádraig pilgrim path, originally a pagan chariot route, led to this holy island through a tunnel under the sea.
Caher is among the significant holy islands strewn around the coastline which contain important early Christian monastic and hermitage settlements and cross-slabs dating from the 5th-8th centuries. Nowadays it is used by the farmers of Inishturk for grazing sheep. In recent years the pilgrimage has been renewed, largely through the commitment of the Inishturk islanders.
"The annual event had almost ceased but interest in the pilgrimage has grown again in recent years and has become a major tourist attraction which benefits the B&B business on Turk during this weekend," said islander Mr Bernard Heanue.
He said that while many of the tourists just attended the Mass on Caher, which was celebrated yesterday by Westport curate Father Micheál Mannion, islanders continued the practice of praying at each "holy station" and always returned home with holy water taken from St Patrick's well. Some believe miraculous cures can be achieved by lying overnight in St Patrick's bed, or Leaba Phádraig.
The island has no slipways or piers, which means that visitors are ferried onto one of its beaches by currach from the larger fishing boats and ferries.
According to Dr Peter Gill, a director of the Centre for Island Studies on Clare Island, "It was the inaccessibility and remoteness of Caher, as in the cases of Inishmurray, the Inishkeas, High Island and Rathlin O'Beirne, that first attracted monastic settlers". "I believe that it was the Coptic emphasis on hardship and asceticism that influenced the remote situation of these settlements. In each case there was a dedicated staging point on the mainland from where the founder of the settlement was reputed to have sailed.
"In the case of Caher it is at Silver Strand beyond Louisburgh and not at any of the harbours that are currently used".
During his sermon yesterday Father Mannion encouraged the islanders of Inishturk and interested parties to study the possibilities of restoring the island's oratory, which is in serious disrepair.