The church takes its name from Hugh MacBrick (Aodh mac Bric), a bishop who died in 588 and whose feast day fell on 10th November. According to the Martyrology of Donegal, Hugh was descended from a line that traced back to Fiacha and was born in Cillair of Meath, though he’s said to be buried alongside Bishop Assicus of Elphin at Racoo, near Ballintra.

The church forms the centrepiece of a remarkable collection of religious structures scattered across this exposed mountain ridge. Just three metres southwest, you’ll find the collapsed remains of a beehive structure built partially into the mountain slope with its entrance facing east. The site also features three holy wells marked on old Ordnance Survey maps, whilst approximately 20 metres north of the church stands a cross-inscribed pillar stone. Immediately west of one of the holy wells sits what locals call ‘the shrine’; a roughly shaped cross rising from a rectangular dry stone platform or leacht measuring 2.65 metres long, 1.3 metres wide and 0.7 metres high.

The ridge itself bears witness to the intensity of past devotion, with approximately 26 cairns serving as penitential stations strung along both edges, though three of these may actually be the remains of hut sites. The “solemn pilgrimage” that once brought pilgrims to this remote spot has long since ceased, perhaps partly due to the challenging conditions of performing a pilgrimage on an exposed mountain during November’s harsh weather. Despite its abandonment, the site remains a fascinating testament to Ireland’s early Christian heritage and the determination of those who once climbed this mountain in prayer.