What mountain is traditionally associated with Saint Patrick's 40-day fast?

The mountain traditionally associated with Saint Patrick’s 40-day fast is Croagh Patrick.

Croagh Patrick stands above Murrisk in County Mayo, overlooking Clew Bay. Its Irish name, Cruach Phádraig, means “Patrick’s stack,” and the mountain is also widely known locally as “the Reek.” At 764 metres, it is a prominent pyramid-shaped peak and one of Ireland’s best-known pilgrimage sites.

According to tradition, Saint Patrick spent 40 days fasting on the summit, echoing the biblical fasts of Moses on Mount Sinai and Jesus in the wilderness. The seventh-century writer Tírechán is an early source for the account of Patrick spending forty days on the mountain. Later legends add stories of demonic birds, a bell and a serpent being driven away.

The mountain’s Christian significance may have built on an older sacred landscape: archaeologists have identified prehistoric monuments around it, including Bronze Age remains. Today, thousands climb Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday, held on the last Sunday in July. Some pilgrims climb barefoot as an act of penance, continuing a tradition that combines older ritual customs with Christian devotion.