The hell fire club / Askeaton Contemporary Arts. [essay by] Padraic E. Moore.

Upon an island in the middle of Askeaton, the remains of a Hellfire Club can be seen. Set up in the mid 1700s by the Duke of Wharton throughout the UK and Ireland, most Hellfire Clubs were soon outlawed and shut down. However, the Askeaton Club, founded in 1740 and the most westerly branch of the organization, probably stayed in existence until the end of the century, and received visitors from near and far. Known as a satirical gentlemans club, those who met there considered it as a way of shocking the outside world. The supposed president was the Devil, although the members themselves did not apparently worship demons or the Devil, but called themselves devils. Mock religious ceremonies took place, with dishes like Holy Ghost Pie, Breast of Venus, and Devil's Loin served, washed down with Hellfire punch. Lurid tales are often recounted in local folklore of other outrageous rituals enacted.