The church ruins sit alongside a fascinating collection of early Christian monuments: a partially collapsed beehive hut built into the mountain slope, three holy wells marked on old Ordnance Survey maps, and a cross-inscribed pillar stone rising from a drystone platform known locally as ‘the Shrine’. This platform, situated about 20 metres north of the church, may have originally served as a leacht, a type of outdoor altar common at Irish pilgrimage sites, positioned just west of one of the holy wells.

The site’s religious significance centres on Saint Hugh MacBrick, a bishop who died in 588 and is said to be buried at Racoo near Ballintra alongside Bishop Assicus of Elphin. According to the Martyrology of Donegal, Hugh was descended from the royal lines of Meath, being the son of Bric, son of Cormac, son of Cremthann, son of Fiacha. His feast day on 10th November proved problematic for maintaining the pilgrimage tradition; the exposed mountain location made late autumn pilgrimages particularly treacherous, contributing to the eventual decline of the ‘solemn pilgrimage’ or turas.

Strung along both edges of the ridge are approximately 26 cairns that served as penitential stations, with at least three possibly representing the remains of ancient hut sites. The pilgrimage tradition experienced a remarkable revival in September 1909 when over 2,000 people, led by local clergy, performed the turas in a grand procession that inspired a local poet to commemorate the event in Irish verse, published in the Derry Journal. Today, these scattered monuments on Slieve League’s heights offer visitors a glimpse into centuries of devotion practised on one of Ireland’s most dramatic mountain landscapes.