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Croagh Patrick (), nicknamed 'the Reek', is a mountain with a height of and an important site of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
in
County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
, Ireland. The mountain has a pyramid-shaped peak and overlooks
Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ) is a large ocean bay on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, Ireland. It is roughly rectangular and has more than a hundred small islands on its landward side; Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The larger Clare Island guar ...
, rising above the village of
Murrisk Murrisk () is a village in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport, County Mayo, Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey. Murrisk lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick and is the ...
, several kilometres from Westport. It has long been seen as a holy mountain. It was the focus of a prehistoric ritual landscape, and later became associated with
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
, who is said to have spent forty days fasting on the summit. There has been a church on the summit since the 5th century; the current church dates to the early 20th century. Croagh Patrick is climbed by thousands of pilgrims every year on
Reek Sunday Reek Sunday (), Garland Sunday or Crom Dubh Sunday (Irish: ''Domhnach Crom Dubh'') is an annual day of pilgrimage in Ireland. On the last Sunday in July, thousands of pilgrims climb Ireland's holiest mountain, Croagh Patrick (764 metres) in C ...
, the last Sunday in July, a custom which goes back to at least the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Croagh Patrick is the fourth-highest mountain in the province of
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
on the P600 listing after
Mweelrea Mweelrea (; ) is a mountain on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, Ireland. Rising to , it is the highest mountain in the western province of Connacht, and is noted for its southeastern cliff-lined corries, and its views. Mweelrea overlooks Kill ...
,
Nephin Nephin or Nefin (), at 806 metres (2646 ft), is the highest standalone mountain in Ireland and the second-highest peak in Connacht (after Mweelrea). It is to the west of Lough Conn in County Mayo. Location It lies in the centre of Gl ...
and
Barrclashcame Barrclashcame () is a mountain with a height of in the Sheeffry Hills of County Mayo, Ireland. Geography The mountain is the highest peak of the Sheeffry Hills and stands in the townland of Clashcame, from which it is named. A short di ...
. It is part of a longer east–west
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
; the lower westernmost peak is named Ben Goram.


Name

'Croagh Patrick' comes from the Irish ''Cruach Phádraig'' meaning "(Saint) Patrick's stack".Cruach Phádraig/Croagh Patrick
Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland (), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, ...
.
It is known locally as "the Reek", a
Hiberno-English Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in e ...
word for a "rick" or "stack". Previously it was known as ''Cruachán Aigle'' or ''Cruach Aigle'', being mentioned by that name in medieval sources such as ''
Cath Maige Tuired ''Cath Maige Tuired'' (modern spelling: ''Cath Maighe Tuireadh''; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile Tu ...
'', ''
Buile Shuibhne ''Buile Shuibhne'' or ''Buile Suibne'' (, ''The Madness of Suibhne'' or ''Suibhne's Frenzy'') is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin, king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity ...
'', '' The Metrical Dindshenchas'',CELT:


/ref> and the ''
Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinà ...
'' entry for the year 1113. ''Cruachán'' is simply a
diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
of ''cruach'' meaning "stack" or "peak". Aigle was an old name for the area. The ''
Dindsenchas ''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Irish ...
'' (lore of places) says that Aigle was a prince of Connacht who was slain by his uncle Cromderg in revenge for his slaying of a woman under Cromderg's care. It is also suggested that ''Aigle'' is an alternative form of ''aicil'', "eagle". The Marquess of Sligo, whose seat was nearby
Westport House Westport House in Westport, County Mayo, Westport, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, is a Georgian architecture, Georgian country house, historically the family seat of the Marquess of Sligo and the Brownes. The house was designed by ...
, bears the titles Baron Mount Eagle and Earl of Altamont ("high mount"), both deriving from Croagh Patrick.


Historical significance

Perhaps because of its prominence, its
pyramidal A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as triangu ...
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...
peak, and the legends associated with it, Croagh Patrick has long been seen as a holy mountain.Claffey, Patrick
"A holy mountain: Croagh Patrick in myth, prehistory and history"
''The Irish Times'', 18 November 2016.
Archaeologist Christiaan Corlett writes that the large number of
prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
monuments surrounding and oriented towards Croagh Patrick "suggests that the mountain has been a local spiritual inspiration since at least the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
, and during the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
became the focus of an extensive ritual landscape".Corlett, Christiaan. "The Prehistoric Ritual Landscape of Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo". ''The Journal of Irish Archaeology'', Vol. 9. Wordwell, 1998. pp.9–10 A short distance east of the mountain lies the Boheh Stone, an outcrop covered with ancient
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
. There are more than 260 carvings, making it one of the most detailed pieces of ancient rock art in Ireland, and one of only two in the province of
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. In 1987 it was rediscovered that, from the Boheh stone, the setting sun appears to roll down the slope of Croagh Patrick in late April and late August. It is believed the stone was chosen because of this natural phenomenon. A
stone row A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of megalithic standing stones set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes, usually dating from the later Neolithic or Bronze Age.Power (1997), p.23 Rows may be individual or groupe ...
at Killadangan is aligned with a niche in the mountain where the sun sets on the winter solstice. Archaeological surveying found remains of an enclosure encircling the mountaintop and dozens of circular huts abutting it, which showed evidence of Bronze Age date.
Tírechán Tírechán was a 7th-century Ireland, Irish bishop from north Connacht, specifically the Killala Bay area, in what is now County Mayo. Background Based on a knowledge of Irish customs of the times, historian Terry O’Hagan has concluded that T ...
, a native of Connacht, wrote in the 7th century that
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
spent forty days on the mountain, like
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
on
Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...
. The 9th century ''Bethu Phátraic'' says that Patrick was harassed by a flock of black demonic birds while on the peak, and he banished them into the hollow of Lugnademon ("hollow of the demons") by ringing his bell. Patrick ended his fast when God gave him the right to judge all the Irish at the
Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
, and agreed to spare the land from the final desolation. A later legend tells how Patrick was tormented by a demonic female serpent named Corra or Caorthannach. Patrick is said to have banished the serpent into Lough Na Corra below the mountain, or into a hollow from which the lake burst forth.


Pilgrimage

Archaeologists found that there had been a stone
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
or oratory on the summit since the 5th century. There is reference to a "Teampall Phádraig" (Patrick's Temple) from AD 824, when the Archbishops of Armagh and Tuam disagreed as to who had jurisdiction on the site. A small modern chapel was built on the summit and dedicated on 20 July 1905. On the last Sunday in July, thousands of pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick in honour of Saint Patrick, and masses are held at the summit chapel. Some pilgrims climb the mountain
barefoot Being barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead ...
, as an act of
penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...
. Traditionally, pilgrims would perform ' rounding rituals', in which they pray while walking
sunwise Sunwise, sunward or deasil (sometimes spelled ''deosil''), are terms meaning to go clockwise or in the direction of the sun, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. The opposite term is ''widdershins'' (Middle Low German), or ''tuathal'' (Scottish ...
around features on the mountain. Among these are a group of three ancient
cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...
s known as Reilig Mhuire (Mary's graveyard), which are likely Bronze Age burial cairns. Folklorist
Máire MacNeill Máire MacNeill (7 December 1904 – 15 May 1987) was an Ireland, Irish journalist, folklorist and translator. She is best known for her magisterial study of the Irish harvest festival, ''The Festival of Lughnasa'' (1962, 1983). Biography ...
conjectured that the pilgrimage pre-dates Christianity and was originally a ritual associated with the festival of
Lughnasadh Lughnasadh, Lughnasa or Lúnasa ( , ) is a Gaels, Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Traditionally, it is held on 1 August, or abo ...
. Today, most pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick from the direction of Murrisk Abbey to the north. Originally, most pilgrims climbed the mountain from the east, following the Togher Patrick (''Tochár Phádraig'') pilgrim path from
Ballintubber Abbey Ballintubber Abbey is an abbey 2 kilometres northeast of Ballintubber, County Mayo in Ireland that was founded by King Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair in 1216. History Despite being suppressed and damaged during the Protestant Reformation, the ...
. This route is dotted with prehistoric monuments, including the Boheh stone. Until 1970, it was traditional for pilgrims to climb the mountain after sunset. It is possible that this came from a pre-historic tradition of climbing the mountain after viewing the 'rolling sun' phenomenon. The ''Tochár Phádraig'' may have originally been the main route from Cruachan (seat of the Kings of Connacht) to Cruachan Aigle, the original name of Croagh Patrick. The ''Tochar Phadraig'' was revived and reopened as a cross-country pilgrimage tourist trail by
Pilgrim Paths of Ireland Pilgrim Paths Ireland (PPI) is a non-denominational representative body for Ireland's medieval pilgrim paths. PPI was founded in 2013 to oversee the development and promotion of Ireland's medieval pilgrimage paths, and consists of 12 community gr ...
; the 30-kilometre route takes about ten hours. Local people and organisations point out that the large number of climbers – as many as 40,000 per year – have damaged the mountain by causing erosion which makes the climb more dangerous. Local stakeholders have made efforts to combat the erosion caused by foot traffic through the creation of a stone path up the mountain, composed of stone from Croagh Patrick and assembled in a dry stone manner.


Gold discovery

A seam of
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
was discovered in the core of the mountain in the 1980s. Due to local resistance by the Mayo Environmental Group, headed by Paddy Hopkins,
Mayo County Council Mayo County Council () is the local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...
decided not to allow
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
on Croagh Patrick. The name of the Owenwee River (''Abhainn Bhuí'', yellow river) on the south of the mountain may indicate an ancient awareness of gold deposits in the area and
gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...
in the river.Corlett, p.18


Gallery

Image:Croagh_Patrick_in_2002.jpg, Distant view of mountain from Westport File:Rules of the Reek - geograph.org.uk - 718448.jpg, Notice at base about Stations for Catholic climbers, with statue of Saint Patrick File:Croagh Patrick - geograph.org.uk - 1773515.jpg, Pilgrims climbing the mountain (2007) File:St. Patrick's bed - geograph.org.uk - 967910.jpg, St. Patrick's Bed at the summit File:The summit cairn - geograph.org.uk - 1035087.jpg, Cairn near summit with view of Clew Bay and Mayo mountains Image:Toilets on Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo, Ireland.jpg, Toilets on the mountain in 1993 (The Sheeffry Hills in the background)


See also

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Lists of mountains in Ireland In these lists of mountains in Ireland, those within Northern Ireland, or on the Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, are marked with an asterisk, while the rest are within the Republic of Ireland. Where mountains are ranked by height ...
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List of mountains of the British Isles by height This article provides access to lists of mountains in Britain and Ireland by height and by prominence. (See Lists of mountains below.) Height and prominence are the most important metrics for the classifications of mountains by the UIAA; with ...
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List of P600 mountains in the British Isles This is a list of P600 mountains in Britain and Ireland by height. A P600 is defined as a mountain with a topographic prominence above , regardless of elevation or any other merits (e.g. topographic isolation); this is a similar approach to that ...
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List of Marilyns in the British Isles This is a list of Marilyn hills and mountains in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and surrounding islands and Stack (geology), sea stacks. Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles#Marilyns, Marilyns are defined as peaks w ...
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List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland This is a list of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland by height. Hewitts are defined as "Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over two thousand" feet in height, the general requirement to be called a "mountain" in the British Isl ...


Bibliography

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References


External links


About Croagh Patrick

''Teach na Miasa'' Croagh Patrick Visitor Centre

The Second Pilgrim Station on the summit of Croagh Patrick
{{Authority control Hewitts of Ireland Marilyns of Ireland Mountains and hills of County Mayo Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites in Ireland Irish folklore Tourist attractions in County Mayo Archaeological sites in County Mayo Saint Patrick Mountains under 1000 metres Pilgrimage routes Sacred mountains of Ireland