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But it’s caught in Clew Bay, near our home in the shadow of Croagh Patrick.

The kids got to climb Croagh Patrick Mountain, named for Ireland’s patron saint.

At the foot of Croagh Patrick, the sacred mountain, Padraig Sheridan, 58, said he appreciated Francis’ “bubbly character” and said that he was eager to get to Dublin to see a pope who was a “people’s man.”

Thousands ascend the conical peak of Croagh Patrick on the holy mountain's traditional pilgrimage days in July and August.

The little town of Westport in County Mayo lies under the shadow of Ireland’s “holy mountain” Croagh Patrick, but has earned a sudden and dubious notoriety for decidedly worldly reasons.