On Thursday 16 August I found myself with no work to do at the office; with the summer holiday season in full swing, a couple of the managers were away and there was no one to assign me any new projects. With no prospect of any work coming my way until the following Tuesday, I took a spontaneous trip to Ireland. On Friday, just for a change, I flew into Sligo Airport, which has a spectacular location on the coast at Strand Hill. After arrival Marian and I watched the surfers at Strand Hill Beach riding some impressive waves.
The weather was typically Irish, sunny one minute and bucketing down the next. However on Sunday the weather was relatively good, so Maz and I decided to climb Croagh Patrick, otherwise known as "The Reek".
"What is so special about this mountain?" you might be asking yourself. Well, a brief history is as follows:
Croagh Patrick (764 m) has been the site of pilgrimage since before the arrival of Celtic Christianity and possibly since before the arrival of the Celts themselves. It derives its name from the Irish Cruach Phádraig ("Saint Patrick's mountain") although it is known locally as the Reek. St Patrick reputedly fasted on the summit for forty days in the fifth century and built a church there. It is said that at the end of his 40-day fast, Saint Patrick threw a bell down the side of the mountain, banishing all the snakes and serpents from Ireland. On "Reek Sunday", the last Sunday in July every year, around 15 - 25,000 pilgrims climb the mountain, many of whom climb barefoot (and we did see one dedicated guy climbing barefoot).
That is a brief history, here are some pics:
The Start of the Climb (St Patrick and his mountain behind)
St Patrick Looking Down on the village of Murrisk and Clew Bay
Nearly Halfway - Looking North to Clew Bay
Along the way there are spectacular views of Clew Bay. Legend has it that Clew Bay has 365 islands in it—"an island for every day of the year". The large number of drumlins at the east end of the bay gave rise to this myth, but in fact there are not so many - around 117. A drumlin (from the Irish droimnín, a little hill ridge) is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action. The drumlins in Clew Bay were flooded when the glaciers melted around 14,000 years ago, forming the islands we see today:
Some Welcome Relief at the Halfway Mark The last bit is steep and rocky (remember about the pilgrims climbing barefoot?)
At the Church at the Summit
From the summit, looking south, you can see Old Head beach. It wasn't the clearest of days, but through the misty cloud we could also make out Tom and Dympna's house, and Clair and Philip's house.
Tom and Dympna's House (circled). Old Head beach to right, Pier far right
Clair and Philip's House (circled)