Saint Patrick
Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Britain around AD 385. Captured in his youth by Irish pirates raiding the Scottish coast, he was sold into slavery in Ireland.Later, escaping to Europe, Patrick spent some years studying at the monastery of St. Martin of Tours in France, where he was ordained as a priest. Deeply affected by the Christian missionary zeal, so prevalent in the early fifth century, he decided to return to Ireland to undertake the conversion of the Celtic pagans and their Druid priests.
Arriving in Ireland in AD 432, Patrick spent nearly thirty years travelling about the countryside, bringing Christianity to the local people and establishing churches and monastic foundations upon many Druidic sacred sites, which had themselves been established upon far more ancient megalithic sites of the Grooved Ware people.
There is a very ancient route leading from Leacht Benain on Croagh Patrick to Ballintubber Abbey. This route is now known as St Patrick's Causeway and pre-dates Patrick’s visit to the Reek. Originally it probably stretched from Cruachan, near Boyle in Co. Roscommon, which was the ancient seat of the Kings of Connaught. All along this causeway, which runs in a straight line from east to west, many churches, abbeys and settlements were established, most of which are now in ruins.
| It is thus logical to assume this was the route that Patrick used when
coming to this area. Starting from Ballintubber Abbey, (pictured) through
Triangle, he reached Aughagower, where he stayed before ascending the
mountain. |
Here he established a church, and a holy well, used by Patrick to baptise his converts to Christianity. In 441, Patrick and members of his household, accompanied by St. Benan of Kilbannon departed on Shrove Saturday to spend the days of Lent on Cruaghan Aigle (now Croagh Patrick). He fasted for forty days, and reputedly banished dragons, snakes, and demonic forces from the site. They returned on Holy Saturday to celebrate Easter with Bishop Sinach in Aughagower.
The journey passed through Bohea, a town-land 6km to the east of Croagh Patrick where there is a remarkable rock outcrop, decorated with ancient art, and known locally as the Bohea Stone. It was discovered in recent years that on two days of the year, the 18th April and 24th August the setting sun directly hits the top of Croagh Patrick and instead of setting behind it, as it usually does, it slides down along its northern slope in a rolling movement.
Here he established a church, and a holy well, used by Patrick to baptise his converts to Christianity. In 441, Patrick and members of his household, accompanied by St. Benan of
Kilbannon departed on Shrove Saturday to spend the days of Lent on
Cruaghan Aigle (now Croagh Patrick). He fasted for forty days, and reputedly banished dragons, snakes, and
demonic forces from the site. They returned on Holy Saturday to
celebrate Easter with Bishop Sinach in Aughagower.
The journey passed through Bohea, a town-land 6km to the east of Croagh Patrick where there is a remarkable rock outcrop, decorated with ancient art, and known locally as the Bohea Stone. It was discovered in recent years that on two days of the year, the 18th April and 24th August the setting sun directly hits the top of Croagh Patrick and instead of setting behind it, as it usually does, it slides down along its northern slope in a rolling movement.
It is also said that Patrick established a simple chapel on the summit of Croagh Patrick called Teampall Phadraig. Existence of the chapel was found on the summit in 1994. There is evidence of this chapel’s existence recorded in 824 when the Archbishop of Armagh had an argument with the Archbishop of Tuam, as Armagh was claiming church dues from Teampall Phadraig. This shows that the church on the summit was in use. The foundations of this church are still on the summit of ‘The Reek’.
On Oct 6th 1882 two priests, Fr. John Stephens and Fr. Michael Clarke, accompanied by two architects and a lot of workmen left Westport with the necessary materials for erecting a temporary chapel on the summit.
After a pilgrimage in 1904, Fr. Michael McDonnell set about building a new chapel on the summit with William H. Byrne as architect and Mr. Walter Heneghan as contractor. All the work materials were bought locally and as much work as possible was carried out at the bottom of the Reek. Everything had to be drawn up the mountain by donkey.
Patrick eventually retired to Glastonbury, England, where he died at the age of one hundred and eleven.
The journey passed through Bohea, a town-land 6km to the east of Croagh Patrick where there is a remarkable rock outcrop, decorated with ancient art, and known locally as the Bohea Stone. It was discovered in recent years that on two days of the year, the 18th April and 24th August the setting sun directly hits the top of Croagh Patrick and instead of setting behind it, as it usually does, it slides down along its northern slope in a rolling movement.
It is also said that Patrick established a simple chapel on the summit of Croagh Patrick called Teampall Phadraig. Existence of the chapel was found on the summit in 1994. There is evidence of this chapel’s existence recorded in 824 when the Archbishop of Armagh had an argument with the Archbishop of Tuam, as Armagh was claiming church dues from Teampall Phadraig. This shows that the church on the summit was in use. The foundations of this church are still on the summit of ‘The Reek’.
On Oct 6th 1882 two priests, Fr. John Stephens and Fr. Michael Clarke, accompanied by two architects and a lot of workmen left Westport with the necessary materials for erecting a temporary chapel on the summit.
After a pilgrimage in 1904, Fr. Michael McDonnell set about building a new chapel on the summit with William H. Byrne as architect and Mr. Walter Heneghan as contractor. All the work materials were bought locally and as much work as possible was carried out at the bottom of the Reek. Everything had to be drawn up the mountain by donkey.
Patrick eventually retired to Glastonbury, England, where he died at the age of one hundred and eleven.
Croagh Patrick
Located eight kilometres from Westport, above the villages of Murrisk
and Lecanvey, Croagh Patrick at 2,510 feet (765 metres) is the third
highest mountain in County Mayo, (after Mweelrea and Nephin). The
mountain forms the southern part of a U-shaped valley created by a
glacier flowing into Clew Bay during the last Ice Age. Croagh Patrick
is part of a longer east-west ridge; to the west is the mountain Ben
Goram.
Anecdote. A
seam of gold was discovered in the mountain in the 1980s. Grades of 14
grams (0.5 oz) of gold per tonne in at least 12 quartz veins, could
potentially produce 700,000 tons of ore. Mayo County Council elected
not to allow mining, deciding that the gold was ‘fine where it was’.Croagh Patrick derives its name from the Irish Cruach Phádraig, Patrick's stack, and is known locally as the Reek, which is a Hiberno-English word for a rick or stack.
In pagan times it was known as Cruachán Aigle, being mentioned by that name in the story of Cath Maige Tuired, and in the Annals of Ulster entry for the year 1113. Cruachán is simply a diminutive of cruach ‘stack’, Aigle is from the Latin, aquila - eagle (more usually aicile or acaile). In addition to its literal meaning, cruach in the pagan name may also have some connection with Crom Cruach.
The next reference found is in the Annals of Connaught where Croagh Patrick is referred to as Cruaich Patric. The Browne’s Map of Mayo dated 1585 shows the area as Croagh Patrick. In the Barony of Murrisk and the whole area, including the mountain, being referred to as ‘Owles O’Maile’ because the O’Malley clan were the Chieftains of the area with their seat in Belclare at the mouth of Owenwee River, two miles from Westport on the road to Croagh Patrick.
The
tradition of pilgrimage to this holy mountain stretches back over 5,000
years from the Stone Age to the present day without interruption, It
was common for early Christians to view pagan religious practices as
devil worship; thus the legend of Patrick slaying dragons and demonic
forces on the sacred mountain is actually a metaphor for his
subjugation and conversion of the pagan priests. |  A symbolic painting by Trevor O'Reilly of pilgrims climbing The Reek. |
In support of
the pre-Christian sanctity of the mountain it is important to note that
Neolithic foundations have been found on the summit and, on a natural
rock outcrop (known as ‘St. Patrick’s Chair) along the pilgrimage route
to the summit, Neolithic art has been discovered. By the seventh
century the holy mountain had become one of the two most important
Christian pilgrimage sites in all Ireland (the other being Station
Island, also called St. Patrick's Purgatory, in Lough Derg near the
town of Sligo).
Prior to AD 1113 the pilgrims came to the
mountain during Lent, but following a wild storm in which thirty
people died upon the peak, the pilgrimage period was changed to
summer, with the most popular days being the last Friday and Sunday of
July.
It is now renowned for its Patrician Pilgrimage in honour
of Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, and the custom has been
faithfully handed down from generation to generation for 1500 years.
(The Black Bell of Saint Patrick was a highly venerated relic on Croagh
Patrick for many years.)
 aerial view of shrine | Long before the arrival of Christianity to Ireland it is known the summit also sited a hill fort, complete with stone ramparts and dwellings. Excavations have been carried out and among the earliest dateable finds are beads from the 3rd century B.C. On the outskirts of the rampart on the mountain slopes, the outline of at least thirty hut sites have been detected.
|
Another recent survey is uncovering a wide range of newly discovered monuments throughout the mountain and around it. These include ancient cooking sites, megalithic tombs, standing stones, burial mounds, ring forts, monastic sites and children’s burial grounds.
Recent archaeological work has uncovered some more interesting remains.
They discovered an enclosure, shaped like a peanut or giant footprint.
This was probably an ancient cashel, or stone fort. Around this are up
to 40 small circular enclosures, which give the impression that ancient
pilgrims might have camped in them. Within the enclosure, the remains
of an early Christian church, similar in size and construction to the
famous Gallarus Oratory near Dingle. The foundations of this building
are all that remain - buried under the rubble and debris of hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims.
On Reek Sunday, the last Sunday of July every year, people come in their
thousands to climb its slopes, some to look, but most to pray.
Individuals and groups come from all over the world and include
pilgrims, hill climbers, historians, archaeologists and nature lovers.
Up until 1974 the pilgrims climbed right through the night to watch the
morning sunrise at the summit. This was a wondrous sight of moving
lights over an ascending distance of almost 3 miles.
The first stop on the pilgrimage is Saint Patrick's statue erected in 1928 by Fr. Patterson with money he collected in America towards the rebuilding of St. Mary's Church in Westport. Although not one of the three traditional stations of the Reek, it has become a place of prayer for those embarking on the pilgrimage and serves as an ideal substitution for those who are unable to make the complete climb.
FIRST STATION: Leacht Benain (named after St. Patrick’s disciple, Saint Benignus. It is at the base of the cone section of the climb, consisting of a small, circular cairn of stones. The pilgrim walks around it seven times and says Seven Our Fathers, Seven Hail Mary’s and one Creed.
SECOND STATION: The Summit. On reaching the summit, the pilgrim starts the second station of the Reek by kneeling and saying Seven Our Fathers, Seven Hail Mary’s and one Creed. He proceeds then to pray for the Pope’s intentions near the Chapel and then walks fifteen times round the chapel in a clockwise direction saying Fifteen Our Fathers, Fifteen Hail Mary’s and one Creed. He concludes the Second Station by walking Seven times around the monument traditionally known as Leaba Phadraig (Patrick’s Bed, where the Saint is supposed to have taken his nights' rest during his 40 day fast on the Summit). As he walks the pilgrim recites Seven Our Fathers, Seven Hail Mary’s and one Creed.
THIRD STATION: Roilig Mhuire (Virgin’s Cemetery) is a little distance down the western side of the mountain. Here there are three cairns of stones, and the pilgrim walks seven times around each cairn, saying Seven Our Fathers, Seven Hail Mary’s and one Creed and finally goes round the whole enclosure seven times praying. Rolig Mhuire was probably a pre Christian grave site dedicated to a pagan goddess and was at one time resorted to by women seeking to have children or looking for a blessing on their children.
In 2008 it was estimated between 35-40,000 people climbed Croagh
Patrick, a figure believed locally to be twice the number who did so
the previous year, although the weather played a big part in swelling
the numbers.
The ancient worship at Mt. Croagh Patrick had nothing to do with
matters of penance and supposed wrongdoing. The holy mountain was a
sanctuary for the giving of thanks and the celebration of life's
abundance. Similar to what occurred at many other prehistoric sacred
places across Europe. At Croagh Patrick, Christianity has warped,
stifled and corrupted the natural human tendency to venerate life and
the Earth's beauty, while imposing ideas of fear, guilt, and control.
This great sacred mountain certainly does not wallow in such limiting,
life-denying concepts nor does it require or support humans in doing
so. Croagh Patrick was - and still is - a place to experience and give
thanks for the exquisite beauty of life.
Currently it is estimated that nearly one million pilgrims climb to the
summit each year. In the Irish Christian tradition the ascent is
undertaken as an act of penance for wrongdoing, and many of the
pilgrims climb barefoot, or even on their knees. |  |
 | It is of Croagh Patrick that William Makepeace Thackeray wrote, when
describing his wearisome journey from Leenane to Westport... |
...'and presently, from an eminence, I caught sight not only of a fine view, but of the most beautiful view I ever saw in the world, I think and to enjoy the splendour of which I would travel a hundred miles in that car with that very horse and driver.
The sun was just about to set and the country round about and to the east was almost in twilight. Trees, cornfields, cottages, made the scene indescribably cheerful; noble woods stretch towards the sea, and abutting on them, between two highlands, lay a smoking town. The mountains were tumbled about in a thousand fantastic ways, but the bay, and the Reek, which sweeps down to the sea, and a hundred islands in it, was dressed up in gold and purple and crimson, with the whole cloudy west in flame. Wonderful, wonderful! The islands in the bay looked like so many dolphins and whales basking there. It forms an event in one’s life to have seen that place, so beautiful is it and so unlike all other beauties that I know of. Were such beauties lying upon English shores it would be a world’s wonder''.Since living quite close to Croagh Patrick, I have taken some interesting photographs. This first one was taken from the garden of my former cottage, overlooking the Reek, on September 11th, 2009, about 11am. The sun was bathing the mountain in pink light.
 This next one was in the depths of the very hard winter we experienced 2009/10, and taken on New Year's Eve from a viewpoint along the N59 road outside of Westport. The lake in the foreground was completely frozen. |
This final one was taken on April 1st, 2010. There had been an overnight fall of snow, which disappeared as the day warmed up, so quite a unique picture in photographic terms, and definitely not an April Fool's joke.
I hope you enjoyed those images.
