This Life: A modern pilgrim's progress

Ididn't know it when I started out, but what began as a simple quest for a pleasant walk along the shores of a Donegal lake would become a year-long trek taking me to almost every corner of Ireland. It also became my new book, Tóchar: Walking Ireland's Ancient Pilgrim Paths.

The lake was Lough Derg, site of St Patrick's Purgatory on Station Island, just across the border from my home in Tyrone. Like other...