The church itself is accompanied by a fascinating collection of early Christian monuments, including a partially collapsed beehive structure built into the mountainside about three metres to the southwest, with its entrance facing east. The site features three holy wells marked on historic Ordnance Survey maps, whilst twenty metres north of the church stands a cross-inscribed pillar stone atop a drystone platform known locally as ‘the Shrine’, which may have served as a leacht, a type of outdoor altar or memorial cairn.

The pilgrimage route along this narrow ridge is marked by approximately 26 cairns serving as penitential stations, with at least three possibly being the remains of ancient hut sites. These stations string along both edges of the mountain ridge, creating a defined path for devotees. The site is dedicated to Saint Hugh MacBrick, a bishop who died in 588 and is said to be buried alongside Bishop Assicus of Elphin at Racoo, near Ballintra. According to the Martyrology of Donegal, Hugh was ‘the son of Bric, the son of Cormac, the son of Cremthann, the son of Fiacha, born in Cillair of Meath’.

Whilst the regular ‘solemn pilgrimage’ had ceased by the early 20th century, partly due to the harsh November weather coinciding with the saint’s feast day on the 10th, the site witnessed a remarkable revival in September 1909 when over 2,000 people, led by local clergy, performed the traditional turas or pilgrimage circuit. The event was significant enough to inspire a local poet to commemorate it with an Irish poem published in the Derry Journal, demonstrating the enduring cultural importance of this mountain sanctuary despite the challenges posed by its exposed location.