Westport, Co. Mayo - Croagh Patrick - NPO postcard c.1960s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Croagh Patrick, Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland
• Publisher: NPO Fotocolor, Belfast & Dublin
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: fine

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Croagh Patrick (Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning "(Saint) Patrick's Stack"),[1] nicknamed the Reek,[2] is a 764 m (2,507 ft) mountain and an important site of pilgrimage in Mayo, Ireland. It is 8 km (5 mi) from Westport, above the villages of Murrisk and Lecanvey. It is the third highest mountain in Mayo after Mweelrea, and Nephin. It is climbed by pilgrims on Reek Sunday every year, which is the last Sunday in July. It forms the southern part of a U-shaped valley created by a glacier flowing into Clew Bay in the last Ice Age. Croagh Patrick is part of a longer east-west ridge; the westernmost peak being Ben Gorm.

Croagh Patrick comes from the Irish Cruach Phádraig meaning "(Saint) Patrick's stack". It is known locally as "the Reek", a Hiberno-English word for a "rick" or "stack".[3] In pagan times it was known as Cruachán Aigle or Cruach Aigle, being mentioned by that name in sources such as Cath Maige Tuired,[4] Buile Shuibhne,[5] The Metrical Dindshenchas,[6] and the Annals of Ulster entry for the year 1113.[7] Cruachán is simply a diminutive of cruach "stack", but it is not certain what Aigle means. It is either from the Latin loan aquila "eagle" (more usually aicile or acaile)[8] or a person's name.[6][9] In addition to its literal meaning, cruach in the pagan name may also have some connection with Crom Cruach.

The Marquess of Sligo, whose seat is nearby Westport House, bears the titles Baron Mount Eagle and Earl of Altamont, both deriving from alternative names (Cruachán Aigle; high mount) for Croagh Patrick.[10]

On the last Sunday in July, thousands of pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick in honour of Saint Patrick who, according to tradition, fasted and prayed on the summit for forty days in the year 441.[11] Masses are held at the summit, where there is a small chapel. From ancient times pilgrims have climbed the mountain barefoot, as an act of penance,[12] a practice that still continues today.

Some pilgrims carry out 'rounding rituals', in which they pray while walking sunwise around features on the mountain. In medieval times, pilgrims carried stones as an act of penance, or to represent a prayer intention. The stones were carried to the cairn on top of the mountain, or to the Cairn on the "saddle" of the mountain, which marks the unofficial "half-way" point at the base of the summit. This practice of carrying stones or rocks on a pilgrimage, to add to a cairn, was thought to bring the pilgrims good luck,[13] and can be seen in many ancient pilgrimage paths, the most notable being the Camino de Santiago.

Some claim that the pilgrimage pre-dates Christianity and was originally a ritual associated with the festival of Lughnasadh.[14][15] It had been claimed that the sheer volume of visitors has led to erosion and has made the mountain more dangerous for climbers.[16]