Croagh Patrick

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Croagh Patrick (Cruach Phádraig in Irish), known locally as the Reek, is a mountain in the west of Ireland in County Mayo.

Croagh Patrick has been site of pilgrimage, especially at the summer solstice, since before the arrival of Celtic Christianity in the first century; possibly since before the arrival of the Celts. But it is best remembered for its namesake, Saint Patrick. He reputedly fasted on the summit of Croagh Patrick for forty days in the year 441 and built a church there.

In modern times, a small chapel was built on the summit, and dedicated on the 30th July, 1905. On 31st July 2005, during the annual pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick, or 'Reek Sunday' as it is known locally, a plaque commemorating the centenary of the building and dedication of the chapel was unveiled by Most Rev. Michael Neery, Archbishop of Tuam.

It is said that at the end of Saint Patrick's 40-day fast, he threw a bell down the side of the mountain, banishing all the snakes and serpents of Ireland. The place where the bell is said to have landed, and where the snakes are said to be banished to is in reality the U-shaped valley created by a glacier flowing into Clew Bay in the last Ice Age; and, of course, there have never been any snakes in Ireland. There were, however, pagan people in ancient Ireland (as there were in ancient Crete) whose worship included snake symbols.

On 'Reek Sunday', the last Sunday in July every year, over 25,000 pilgrims climb the mountain, many of whom climb barefoot.

In the early 1990's, the richest gold seam in Europe was discovered in the west of Ireland, and running straight through the mountain. This produced a battle between Dublin entrepreneurs, who wanted to develop the mountain as (they said) an environmentally sensitive gold mine; and local residents and preservationists who took the view that the gold was perfectly safe right where it was - under Saint Patrick.

The village of Murrisk is situated at the foot of the mountain.

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