Croagh Patrick, known locally as the Reek, is a mountain in the west of Ireland in County Mayo.

Croagh Patrick has been site of pilgrimage since before the arrival of Celtic Christianity in the first century; possibly since before the arrival of the Celts. But it is best remembered for its namesake, Saint Patrick. He reputedly fasted on the summit of Croagh Patrick for forty days in the year 441 and built a church there.

In the early 1990's, the richest gold seam in Europe was discovered in the west of Ireland, and running straight through the mountain. This produced a battle between the tossers in Dublin, who wanted to develop the mountain as (they said) an environmentally sensitive gold mine; and local residents and preservationists who took the view that the gold was perfectly safe right where it was - under Saint Patrick.