Celtic fairy traditions
Lough Derg and Patrick’s Purgatory
Evans-Wentz records a water-monster legend explaining the Red Lake’s name through Saint Patrick’s combat. Another local explanation interprets the defeated serpents as Druids or paganism. He distinguishes the former cave on Saints’ Island from the later pilgrimage site on Station Island. His proposal that Christian ordeals preserve pagan initiation is an inference rather than a documented unbroken rite.
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In the sources
Principal account
ReportedEvans-Wentz records a water-monster legend explaining the Red Lake’s name through Saint Patrick’s combat. Another local explanation interprets the defeated serpents as Druids or paganism.
Further detail
ReportedHe distinguishes the former cave on Saints’ Island from the later pilgrimage site on Station Island. His proposal that Christian ordeals preserve pagan initiation is an inference rather than a documented unbroken rite.
Context & interpretation
Evans-Wentz combines named informants, manuscript narratives, and his own psychical theory in a 1911 survey. This entry preserves those distinctions: collected belief and literary tradition do not establish the physical existence of an Otherworld.
Original passages
Source 1
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
the lake came to be called Loch Derg (Red Lake).* The second legend, composed of folk-opinions, was related by Patrick Monaghan, the caretaker ofOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Celtic fairy traditions; active reader leaf 474
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0045-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0045-E001-P0474
- Original scan leaf
- 475
- Recorded leaf number
- 475
- Current Reader position
- 470
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
there having been a transfer from Saints' Island to Station Island, the present place of pilgrimage, where instead of the cave there is the *Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Celtic fairy traditions; active reader leaf 475
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0045-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0045-E001-P0475
- Original scan leaf
- 476
- Recorded leaf number
- 476
- Current Reader position
- 471
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
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