Church Island

Church Island rises from Lough Gill as the largest islet in the water, holding the ruined church and graveyard where pregnant women once climbed to touch Our Lady’s Bed. The place belongs to the old world of St Lomán, Uí Ruairc and perhaps Céli Dé, where care for the sick and guarding of relics made a small island into a road for pilgrims. Even now the bed stands like a stone promise, inviting wonder about the women who leaned against it, asked for protection or longed for life, while the lake kept their footsteps hidden.