Croagh Patrick, located in Co Mayo, is nearing the end of a monumental improvement project that has taken over three years. A four-kilometre stone walkway, shaped from the essence of the mountain itself, has been meticulously built from base to peak by a dedicated team that shifted thousands of tonnes of rock and soil to make the path safe and more navigable.
The group leading the project, known as the Croagh Patrick Path Team, includes Matt McConway, Bernard Burke, Frank McNamara, Tulio de Jesus, and David Doyle, with McConway, a Scotsman, at the helm. Their vast undertaking spans various elements, including slogging up the mountain in different weather conditions nearly 500 times, physically shifting tons of rock and earth, and creating a viable pathway where many thought it could not be done, as explained by Doyle.
McConway, whose expertise is in crafting mountain paths, has lent his expertise in the field across the UK and undertook test runs on Cornagh Patrick in 2018.
The decision to establish a pathway was made by the Croagh Patrick Stakeholders Group in 2015 in response to public concern about the mountain’s deteriorating state. Among the group are local and national authorities, both religious and civil, and representatives of outdoor, heritage, and tourism sectors.
The construction of the pathway kicked off in December 2020, spearheaded by McConway with the help of the four dedicated locals, including Brazilian-born de Jesus, who has made Westport his home through marriage.
Recognition for their contribution is given to the Mountain Ireland volunteers for their unwavering commitment, while the Leave No Trace ambassadors made themselves available every weekend to make the public aware of the project.
A notable team member, Doyle, who has been climbing Croagh Patrick since the age of 15, has found the constant climb to and from work every day in the past three years to be the most enjoyable part of the project. As he puts it, “Indeed, I relish it personally.”
Workers were tasked with the massive undertaking of constructing a 6m wide pathway from the apex to the base of a mountain, the most challenging part of which was sourcing stones from the mountain itself. The construction was an arduous process, handled manually or with handheld tools, in an effort to retain the natural aesthetics of the landscape. This sometimes involved transporting stones over quite a distance, although efforts were made to locate them as near as possible to the path.
While the physical demands of the job were considerable, Doyle noted that the toughest aspect lay in the unpredictable weather. Despite the hardships, Doyle reported receiving consistent encouragement and positive feedback from a steady influx of climbers who passed by daily, apportioning enthusiastic approval from 99% of these passers-by. As work was not scheduled during weekends, the annual Croagh Patrick hill ascent, typically held on the last Sunday of July, did not interfere with the progress of the pathway construction.
The pathway covers about half the journey up Croagh Patrick. For an average climber, this climb can take around three hours to ascend and descend, although Doyle anticipated that the new pathway would help to decrease this time significantly. Updates on the progress of the pathway can be monitored via the ‘Climb the Reek’ YouTube channel.