Recent Years
25,000 pilgrims took part in the climb in 1999 in ideal conditions. Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam spoke on the mountain of the improving quality of life which Ireland was experiencing in the late 1990s.
Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam spoke of the fear created by banking and commerce as well as by the Church and state at a meeting with pilgrims in Westport prior to the 2002 climb. Pilgrims flocked from areas such as Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and United States to climb Croagh Patrick in 2002. Rain was said to have led to difficult climbing conditions.
Around 20,000 people took part in 2006 during particularly bad weather of wind and rain. Archbishops Seán Brady and Michael Neary said Mass on top, with Neary appealing for kindness and goodwill to be shown to immigrant families. Twenty-three people were airlifted or stretchered off Croagh Patrick with illnesses and injuries; two of these were hospitalised. The 2006 climb saw the first scientific analysis of pilgrims. 11,000 of them were surveyed with two thirds of the climbers found to be men, one third of the climbers found to be women, 5% of pilgrims coming from outside Ireland and 2% climbing in their bare feet.
Over 30,000 pilgrims climbed Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday in 2007. There were some minor foot injuries, whilst one man underwent a suspected cardiac arrest on the mountain.
Over 25,000 pilgrims took part in 2008, the largest total in modern times. A live worldwide broadcast of Mass by RTÉ from the summit took place for the first time ever, with Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam again the celebrant. Neary spoke of consumer values that he felt were seducing society. Over 20 priests were involved in the 2008 event. Injuries were very few.
Only 18,000 pilgrims climbed the mountain in 2009; more than 20,000 had been expected beforehand and the 18,000 figure was down on the previous year. Weather conditions were particularly bad with many choosing to climb the mountain the previous day. Between five and six children contracted hypothermia on Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday in 2009. Some participants sustained minor cuts, others complained of coronary issues, whilst one woman was airlifted off the mountain after breaking her ankle the day before and a man was airlifted to hospital after undergoing a suspected cardiac arrest on the mountain. Prior to the climb, Mayo Mountain Rescue Team (MMRT) advised pilgrims to carry some sort of footwear but not flip-flops, sandals, stilettos or Wellingtons; it was the first time they had ever issued such advice. Pilgrims were also told to use a stick for walking, wear multiple layers of clothing and to scale the mountain at a slow pace. Archbishop Michael Neary said before the 2009 climb that people were “searching desperately” for hope in the “menacing desert” of the recession. In his homily on the mountain, Neary talked of the effects the recession had on family life.
Read more about this topic: Reek Sunday
Famous quotes containing the word years:
“Neither years nor books have yet availed to extirpate a prejudice then rooted in me, that a scholar is the favorite of Heaven and earth, the excellency of his country, the happiest of men. His duties lead him directly into the holy ground where other men’s aspirations only point. His successes are occasions of the purest joy to all men. Eyes is he to the blind; feet is he to the lame. His failures, if he is worthy, are inlets to higher advantages.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“There’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. It’s another thing, though, to hold up that cloth for inspection.”
—John Gregory Brown (20th century)