Ireland's holy mountain, Croagh Patrick, is the subject of a major exhibition which was opened on Friday night at the public library in Westport, Co Mayo.
There were over 500 entrants, both professional and amateur, in the Croagh Patrick Photographic Competition 2002. The two-phased competition - applications will be available for 2003 from April - was organised by the Croagh Patrick Archaeological Committee and will culminate in the publication of a book to celebrate the centenary of the building of the church at the summit in 2005.
"I've spent over 40 years capturing the moods of the Reek, its shapes and shadows, its contours and colours, its mystery. For a long time I had it all to myself, it is inspiring that there are so many entrants," said photo-grapher Liam Lyons who launched the exhibition.
An archaeological trail from Westport to Clare Island will also be launched next May. Local archaeologists Michael Gibbons, Leo Morihan and Gerry Walsh, who established the interpretative centre at the foot of the mountain, are advisers to the project, which will be funded by Mayo County Council and South West Mayo Leader Company. An earlier application to the Heritage Council had been unsuccessful.
The trail will lead visitors along the southern edge of Clew Bay to the National Famine Monument, at the mountain's base, to the nearby medieval friary at Murrisk.
A burial mound situated on a drumlin to the north-east of the mountain draws the visitor towards the village of Louisburgh where the life and times of 16th century pirate queen Grace O'Malley are recounted in the Granuaile Centre. A 6 km ferry ride to Clare Island, once home to the sea warrior, is also part of the trail.