The holy mountain that's become too popular - BBC (Croagh Patrick)

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The holy mountain that’s become too popular
bbc.com/news/magazine-34475325
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Up to 40,000 people climb Croagh Patrick every year - a 760m-high mountain in the far west of Ireland - as part of a pilgrimage to honour the country’s patron saint. It’s one of Ireland’s top tourist destinations and has become popular with runners. But not everyone is happy, including the Catholic Church.
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On a clear day you can see Croagh Patrick from miles away, its near-perfect conical shape mirrored against the sky. Originally a site for pagan ceremonies, St Patrick is said to have climbed the mountain more than 1,500 years ago, fasting and praying for 40 days and 40 nights.
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Not surprisingly, the Catholic Church has objected to such activities: “Nature’s greatest cathedral in the west is being severely damaged,” says a local priest. Others, including Liam, have different concerns - such has been the boom in visitors, the paths leading to and from the summit are being worn away.
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“The whole shape of the mountain is changing. And with the rocks getting looser and looser, you’d be killed any moment with a boulder falling on your head,” says Liam.
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Safeguarding Croagh Patrick is fraught with difficulties. While the Catholic Church has authority over the summit and its small chapel, up to 40 local farmers have what’s known as commonage rights on the mountain and any work to improve pathways or put safety measures in place has to have their agreement.
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I assume Croagh Patrick basically means St. Patrick mountain. An interesting article with pictures.
 
We can see it from the back of our farm. My father-in-law climbed it in pilgrimage (climbed is kind of a crazy word, you walk up) 25 times in his lifetime. The last time he was 75 years young and said “I’m too old for that stuff anymore!” 😉
The falling rocks is because the whole thing is like loose gravel. It’s dicey coming down the paths because you skid. My husband ran up it when he was 8 yrs. old and slept for 2 whole days when he got home. Even children find it a tough hike. My pastor did it this summer, and really wished he had brought his hiking sticks with him. You can rent them at the base. The stones are loose and sharp on the path. This past year, the annual huge celebration was cancelled due to severe winds. The caretaker literally felt like he might be blown off.
Having said all of that, I would HATE if they did something as ridiculous as barring people from doing the pilgrimage. Maybe the locals have tired of it, but people from all over the world come to hike to and to pray there. It’s one of Ireland’s holy places, and should remain open to the public.

I wonder who the “local priest” is? Fr. Frank Fahey from Ballintubber Abbey (our pastor there) is quite the historian, and I can’t see him objecting to the faithful hiking Croah Patrick.
What next? 😦
 
Path_Finder said:
I assume Croagh Patrick basically means St. Patrick mountain. An interesting article with pictures.
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This sounds like a civil engineering management problem. It’s probably possible to fix. The question would be cost.
 
It’s a grassy and rocky “hill” less of a mountain.
It has a trail winding all the way up. I suppose they could put in a railing, but that would mar the landscape far worse than the pilgrims.
Tempest in a teapot.
 
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