Croagh Patrick, Westport, County Mayo

Every year, thousands of believers, tourists and join-in-the-fun-ers converge at Croagh Patrick on the last Sunday of July. This is the place where, legend has it, that St. Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland) fasted & prayed for 40 days/40 nights and banished all snakes from Ireland (for good measure... why not?) back in 441AD.

more info [Lonely Planet]

It was probably one of the tougher climbs I've done. 1/3 of it near the top was all scree which made it really challenging to climb & some had to be carried off on stretchers - I'm assuming sprained ankles or just couldn't be bothered climbing back down.

The climb up took us around 2 and a bit hours but the view from the top is pretty amazing. It overlooks the west atlantic coast around Westport & could almost be mistaken for some tropical island in some shots.

Back in Westport town, we spent the weekend with Craig's parents who are visiting from New Zealand & another netball friend of Bex's - Madeline. Pints of Guiness cost €3.50 compared to the Dublin ripoff at €4.60 ~ €5.50 each. Oh! food is cheaper too :-)

.. [info about Westport] ..
Westport is perched on the Atlantic coast on the West coast of Ireland. It has beautiful beaches within minutes (beautiful to look at, probably still too cold to swim in :-D). There's a pub - Matt Malloys - there that has traditional Irish music & is owned by ... Matt Malloy of the Chieftans who are famous for their Celtic music. Worth a visit!