Croagh Patrick
| Croagh Patrick | ||
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 The mountain Croagh Patrick with the pilgrim path and the chapel |
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| height | 764 m | |
| location | County Mayo , Ireland | |
| Coordinates | 53 ° 45 '39 " N , 9 ° 39' 35" W | |
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The Croagh Patrick ( Irish : Cruach Phádraig ) is a 764 meter high mountain in County Mayo in the west of the Republic of Ireland . He is nicknamed The Reek (hiberno-English for pile). For hundreds of years, Croagh Patrick has been a sanctuary in honor of St. Patrick . In 441, the patron saint of Ireland climbed this mountain, fasted there for 40 days and built a chapel . Legend has it that he threw a bell on one side of the mountain, driving all snakes off the island of Ireland. The place where the bell supposedly landed is a U-shaped valley . It was formed during the Ice Age and flows into Clew Bay .
The small chapel on the summit was consecrated on July 30, 1905. On July 31, 2005, on the occasion of the annual pilgrimage, Michael Neery, Archbishop of Tuam , unveiled a plaque commemorating the centenary of the consecration.
On the so-called Reek Sunday (also called Garland Sunday ), the last Sunday in July, an actually pagan date, around 25,000 pilgrims climb the mountain; many do this barefoot.
At the foot of the mountain is the place Murrisk , north of the megaliths of Killadangan .
Mountain with St. Patrick statue
Pilgrim path
Pilgrim path to the summit
Pilgrims on the way to the summit
Chapel on the summit
Web links
- http://www.museumsofmayo.com/croaghpatrick.htm - The museums of County Mayo
- http://www.croagh-patrick.com/ - information and a small picture gallery (English)