Walk 4: Croagh Patrick
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Your support makes all the difference.The view from the summit of Co Mayo's holy mountain can have changed very little since AD441 when St Patrick climbed Croagh Patrick. In those days it was called Crochan Aigh – the mountain of the eagle; it was later renamed for the saint who spent 40 days and nights fasting at the top. To the north is Clew Bay, calm and deserted; the occasional seabird sits motionless on the water. On the western side the coast stretches along to Louisburgh towards the Atlantic. In every direction there are mountains, and Croagh Patrick towers above them all.
The walk to the top of the Reek, as the mountain is known locally, along a clearly marked path, is strenuous. The starting point is in the village of Murrisk, six miles along the coast from Westport, Co Mayo's most attractive town. There is a car park next to the visitors' centre, where the buses stop too. Across the road is the National Famine Memorial, to those all over Ireland who died during the mid-19th century potato famine.
The rocky path winds steadily upwards around the mountain. The average walker will take about two hours to get to the top, although it soon becomes obvious that this is anything but an average walk. For many, the mountain is a place of pilgrimage and on "Reek Sunday", the last Sunday in July every year, thousands of pilgrims climb to the summit, many barefooted, to attend Mass. But you don't need to be a pilgrim to notice the religious associations: first, the statue of St Patrick, and then the ancient standing stones believed to be sacred sites. Pilgrims stop at these to pray before continuing on to the chapel at the top. Built in 1905, all the materials were taken up on donkeys.
Even now, no cars are allowed up the mountain, although there are bus connections from Westport to the base. In summer a daily service runs to Murrisk from the Bus Eireann stop in Mill Street. From September until the end of May the buses run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; the outbound bus leaves in the morning and returns in the evening, which leaves plenty of time to get up the mountain and back again. A taxi from Westport costs about IR£6 (£4.75). Westport Tourist Office: 00 353 98 25711
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