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Article: Pilgrim's progress: each year, on the last Sunday in July, the faithful travel to County Mayo to climb St. Patrick's mountain, Croagh Patrick. (Ireland's holy mountain)
- Article from:
- World of Hibernia
- Article date:
- June 22, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 The World of Hibernia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"Are you sure about this?" asked my husband, Michael. "You know you'll be complaining of sore feet."
I must admit I was starting to have misgivings. There before us loomed Croagh Patrick, its conical peak soaring 2,510 feet above the West's timeless landscape of stone-walled fields. Colloquially known as "The Reek," Croagh Patrick is Ireland's holy mountain and to a novice pilgrim it can look very daunting.
Overlooking Mayo's bleak and beautiful Atlantic coast, Croagh Patrick holds a special place in Irish hearts. Although modest in stature by Alpine standards, the mountain is hugely symbolic -- a kind of stairway to heaven whose rungs reach from the ...