Croagh Patrick
Overview
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
in County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Westport
Westport, County Mayo
Westport is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated on the west coast at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean....
, above the villages of Murrisk
Murrisk
Murrisk is one of the Baronial divisions of County Mayo and also a village in County Mayo, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey....
and Lecanvey
Lecanvey
Lecanvey or Leckanvy is a seaside village in County Mayo, Ireland, between Westport and Louisburgh, about 2 km west of Murrisk. It has a small beach with Lecanvey Pier. To the south is Croagh Patrick...
. It is the third highest mountain in County Mayo after Mweelrea
Mweelrea
Mweelrea is a mountain in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland. With a height of 814 metres , it is the highest point in County Mayo, the highest point in the province of Connacht and the 34th highest in Ireland...
and Nephin
Nephin
Nephin or Nefin , at 806 metres , is the second highest peak in County Mayo and the second highest in Connacht, in Ireland...
. On "Reek Sunday", the last Sunday in July every year, over 15,000 pilgrims climb it. It forms the southern part of a U-shaped valley
U-shaped valley
A U-shaped valley also known as a glacial trough is one formed by the process of glaciation. It has a characteristic U-shape, with steep, straight sides, and a flat bottom. Glaciated valleys are formed when a glacier travels across and down a slope, carving the valley by the action of scouring...
created by a glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
flowing into Clew Bay
Clew Bay
Clew Bay is a natural ocean bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It contains Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. According to tradition, there is an island in the bay for every day of the year. The bay is overlooked by Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holy mountain, and the mountains of North Mayo. Clare...
in the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
.
