Significant news for Mayo's Croagh Patrick

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, has announced funding of €42,000 from his Department towards supporting the maintenance and management of the restored Croagh Patrick path for 2026.

‘Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors’, Ireland’s national outdoor recreation strategy, aims to develop and manage our outdoor resources in a sustainable manner. Following on from a similar collaboration in 2025, this project sees the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Mayo County Council and the Croagh Patrick Stakeholder Forum come together to fund the essential path maintenance and management costs for 2026.

Announcing the funding today, Minister Calleary said:

“Croagh Patrick continues to draw thousands of pilgrims and tourists to it each year. The work undertaken on the path, completed in 2024, has addressed the impact of recreational use on the habitat of the mountain while also having an added benefit in for those who walk the path.

“The restored path on Croagh Patrick took years of pain-staking work to complete, most of it done by hand, but that was just the first step. We now want to make sure that the benefit of that work is not lost. This maintenance work will continue to ensure that the path is managed in a sustainable way.

“The Croagh Patrick Stakeholder Group, along with the many volunteers who support them, have to be commended for the care they show for the mountain and those who visit it. The investment of time and money in the mountain by the stakeholder group, in collaboration with local landholders, is an example to us all and I am delighted to be in a position to be able to support their efforts.” 

 The chair of the Croagh Patrick Stakeholders Group, Martin Keating, said:

“Croagh Patrick Stakeholders Group is delighted with the news that the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, in conjunction with Mayo County Council, have agreed to support the maintenance work on Croagh Patrick for 2026.

“This collaboration, together with the resources donated locally through the Friends of Croagh Patrick Initiative will ensure that the path remains robust and fit for purpose, the mountain continues to recover from erosion and a better and safer visitor experience will be availed of. I wish to thank Minister Calleary and the officials in the Department for their valued continued support for Croagh Patrick.” 

 Also speaking, Michael McDermott, Head of Tourism, Mayo County Council, said:

“Mayo County Council is delighted to support the Croagh Patrick Stakeholders Group and recognises the mountain’s unique cultural, heritage and environmental importance, as well as its central role as one of Mayo’s flagship tourism destinations.”