Station Island is a long poem written by Séamus Heaney about his experience of the pilgrimage: it is part of a collection of the same name (published 1984). Other well-known poets, such as Denis Devlin and Patrick Kavanagh wrote works on St. Patrick's Purgatory as well. "The Lough Derg Pilgrim" by the Irish writer William Carleton recounts his experience there, which led him to abandon thoughts of becoming a Roman Catholic priest; he converted to the Church of Ireland. Pete McCarthy's visit in 1998 is described in McCarthy's Bar.
