The sacred Mountain: Cruachan Aigle/Croagh Patrick
Moving from polytheism to monotheism didnt desacralise the landscape and geographical features continued to have a sacredness thats still around in Irish cultures today. Croagh Patrick is a medieval pilgrimage site where people walk up the hill in their bare feet and have mass on the summit.
As Cruachain Aigle ‘Eagle Mountain/the festival mountain’ Croagh Patrick is associated with the Lunasa motif marking the seasonal change with the battle of two deities for the possession of feminine divinity that personifies the fertility of the land. The story involves Crom the only time he appears outside the Saints Lives. Hes called Crom Dearg
In the place name stories the mountain gets its name from the death of the son of Dearg (a name for the death deity) at the hand of Crom Dearg. Interestingly When patrick fasts against the angel victor on Croagh Patrick it might be explaining how he took on some of the cult of a death god.
Patrick refuses to eat shaming god into giving him certain entitlements. Patrick made it so all irish people would go to him after death and not Saint Peter. Similar to how people go to Donn the death god after their death.
The move between Polytheism and Monotheism had to be marked and how the authors of the saints lives did it is the origin of saint patrick driving out the snakes. But there were no snakes. Instead he expelled demon birds from the plain here with a magic bell.
Unfortunately for our modern english language associations with pagans and snakes, snakes dont feature in the saints life until after anglo norman invasion. They spoke Norman french a mix of norweigan and Frankish might have confused Padraic with Padrkr. Toad expeller.
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