Minister Calleary announces funding for management of Croagh Patrick path
-
From: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
- Published on: 18 May 2026
- Last updated on: 18 May 2026
- €90,000 investment in path maintenance and management in 2026
- €42,000 investment from DRCDG with €35,000 from Croagh Patrick Stakeholder Forum and €13,000 from Mayo County Council
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, today (Monday, 18 May 2026) 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 today, 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.”
Notes
Embracing Ireland’s Outdoor - National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2027
Launched in November 2022, Ireland’s first ever National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027: Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors provides a strategic, collaborative framework to facilitate the consolidation and sustainable growth of the outdoor recreation sector.
The Strategy will see the development of a more coordinated approach to outdoor recreation on a national and local level through the development of County Outdoor Recreation Plans and the establishment of County Outdoor Recreation Committees and Stakeholder Forums.
Croagh Patrick Sustainable Access and Habitat Restoration Project
This project was to provide sustainable access to Croagh Patrick by addressing the substantial erosion/scarring of the mountain and the significant damage to the path caused by the more than 50,000 visitors every year. The project used a training-based model, with four trainees working under the supervision of an expert in path repair from Scotland.
Funding of €525,000 was provided by DRCDG with an additional €135,000 being provided by Mayo Co Council. Path repair works were completed in April 2024.