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Croagh Patrick (Cruach Phádraig in Irish), known locally as the Reek, is a mountain in the west of Ireland in County Mayo.
Croagh Patrick has been a pilgrimage site for hundreds of years in honour of Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, who fasted for forty days on the summit of the mountain in 441 and built a church there.
It is said that at the end of St. Patrick's 40 day fast, he threw a bell down the side of the mountain, banishing all the snakes and serpents of Ireland. The place where the bell is said to have landed, and where the snakes are said to be banished to is in reality the U-shaped valley created by a glacier flowing into Clew Bay in the last Ice Age.
On 'Reek Sunday', the last Sunday in July every year, over 25,000 pilgrims climb the mountain, many of whom are barefoot.
The village of Murrisk is situated at the foot of the mountain.
- See also: List of mountains in Ireland
- External link: About Croagh Patrick (http://www.museumsofmayo.com/croaghpatrick.htm)
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