Ireland Guide
Tyrone and Fermanagh
Devenish Island
Heading around the eastern shores of Lower Lough Erne, if you don't have transport of your own, note that the easiest place to visit from Enniskillen is Devenish Island. Ferries run to the island from Trory Point, three miles north of Enniskillen off the A32 Irvinestown road (April– Sept daily 10am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm; 
028/6862 1588; £3), though it's advisable to check times with the tourist office before setting out, as poor weather can sometimes delay or cancel departures. To get to Trory Point from Enniskillen, take the Omagh bus and ask to be set down at the Kesh turn-off.
A monastic settlement was founded on Devenish by St Molaise in the sixth century and became so important during the early Christian period that it had 1500 novices attached. Though plundered by Vikings in the ninth century and again in the twelfth, it continued to be an important religious centre up until the beginning of the seventeenth century. It's a delightful setting, not far from the lough shore, and the ruins are considerable, spanning the entire medieval period. Most impressive are the sturdy oratory and perfect round tower, both from the twelfth century; St Molaise's church, a century older; and the ruined Augustinian priory, a fifteenth-century reconstruction of an earlier abbey. The priory has a fine Gothic sacristy door decorated with birds and vines. To the south is one of Ireland's finest high crosses, with highly complex, delicate carving. Other treasures found here – such as an early eleventh-century book shrine, the Soiscel Molaise – are now kept in the National Museum in Dublin, while the island's own small museum (joint ticket and same hours as ferry, or 75p if you've arrived in your own boat) includes other less notable relics and detailed information about Devenish itself.