Mayo Theme -
5
Croagh Patrick
The conical peak of Croagh Patrick has been for
millennia the focal point for ritual and pilgrimage
stretching back possibly to before the Neolithic
period. The mountain dominates the Mayo landscape.
Imagine the effect of the 'roof of the world', 'the
stairway to the heavens' vista, would have had on
many generations. Indeed, many generations have
sought to venerate this quartzite mountain space
for diverse reasons.
Remains
of Augustinian Friary
with Croagh Patrick in the
background
Today thousands of pilgrims traverse, some
barefoot, the difficult terrain of this holy
mountain on their annual pilgrimage to the summit
to beseech the almighty for whatever personal
intentions they might have or equally just to enjoy
the amazing Clew Bay landscape.
Leacht
Mionnan
It has been the same throughout the millennia
when pre Christian people travelled the same
landscape in search of their own particular
divinity.
Pilgrimage to a number of these holy places in
Ireland represents a living link to an ancient
past, a past filled with venerated places such as
wells, trees and mountain tops where pagan spirits
dwelled until subdued or adapted by the Christian
newcomers.
Croagh Patrick had its own protective god Crom
Dubh who dwelled near the mountain. Crom
Dubh is a pagan god who owns a bull, a granary
of corn and is ruler of the elements. There are
many stories of how St Patrick in his mission to
bring Christianity to Ireland had to do battle with
the powers of gods such as Crom Dubh. These battles
are the later hagiographers, versions of the fight
between the pagan gods and Christianity for
supremacy, a power struggle in the shadow of a
power centre.
It is argued that the religious importance of
Ireland's holiest mountain has its roots in the
Celtic festival of Lughnasa. Lugh was the god of
the Túatha De Danaan, he was the
Ollathair, the all-father god, the sky god, and
Celts believed that they were physically descended
from the sky god who was himself descended from
Danu (divine waters). He was regarded as the
ancestor of several ruling Irish
Túatha. Lugh initiated the harvest
festival that was originally celebrated at the
grave of his mother or wives. Therefore, it would
have been extremely important to honour such a god.
Lughnasa is on the first of August and today
Christians from around the world ascend to the peak
of Croagh Patrick just before that ancient
date.
Stone Row at Kiladangan (Photo:
Aidan Clarke)
Archaeological research suggests that Croagh
Patrick was a powerful religious focus since the
Bronze Age. At the standing stone complex at
Kiladangan it was
discovered that the stone row is aligned on the
setting sun of the winter solstice, which sets
within a niche in the eastern shoulder of the
mountain. At the isolated rock outcrop at Boheh,
where there is one of the finest examples of
rock art in
Europe, the setting sun can be seen rolling
down the shoulder of Croagh Patrick. These striking
events would have been observed and marvelled at by
prehistoric farmers with an acute sense of their
environment and concerned with astronomical events,
which could affect or damage their livelihoods.
Did the ancient peoples venerate Croagh Patrick
as the residence of a deity who had the power to
control the elements, or was there a more
economical reason for the focus on the mountain. It
has recently been shown that a narrow interrupted
reef of rock, containing gold in sufficient
quantity to make its extraction profitable, runs
from south -west Scotland across the north of
Ireland to reach the Atlantic coast not far from
Croagh Patrick. However it has been argued that
prehistoric mining techniques were not capable of
exploiting this resource. The name of the river
Abhainn Buí, yellow river, which rises on
the south west of the mountain, suggests that
perhaps there was an awareness of how to exploit
these resources. The lack of gold artefacts from
the immediate area could be explained in terms of
trade. Perhaps the rights to exploit the area's
resources were traded to outside producers who
would have needed access to the raw material.
The Tóchar
Phádraig approaching Croagh Patrick
(Photo: Ballintubber Abbey Trust)
Was the ancient pilgrim route of the Tóchar
Phádraig used for more than the
transport of pilgrims? Was it a trade route between
Croagh Patrick and the royal site of Connaght at
Cruachain and beyond?
Check out the following
sections of the website for related
information:
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This
project has been supported by the EU as part of the Culture
2000 programme.