Some years ago I was on car parking duty in Murrisk very early in the dark morning of Reek Sunday. The weather was dreadful: heavy rain and gale force winds. A few hours earlier it was announced that the 'Reek' had been cancelled because climbing conditions were dangerous. A sign was put up on the approach road to the pilgrim path just outside our cottage, stating that the Masses usually said from dawn in the summit Chapel would not now take place. The clergy were setting a good example and not going up that mountain.

People were disappointed, but most continued to climb, undeterred. Reek pilgrims are a hardy lot! Others got out of their cars in the muddy field, took one look at the weather, and climbed back in. But I would guess that about three quarters of the arrivals braved the mountain climb.

I was sheltering under a tree at the time, drinking a much needed mug of tea that had been brought to the parking helpers by the late Johnny Groden, the then Chair of the Murrisk Development Association, and was chatting to a Garda Superintendent who was in charge of the garda presence for the pilgrimage. He told me an interesting story.

A group of Dutch police had visited Ireland the previous year, to observe how large-scale public events were handled by our authorities. They were brought to the Reek as an example of a complex public outdoor event with large numbers attending, in conditions that are never quite ideal, and........

© The Mayo News