Archaeologist Christiaan Corlett writes that the large number of prehistoric monuments surrounding and oriented towards Croagh Patrick "suggests that the mountain has been a local spiritual inspiration since at least the Neolithic, and during the Bronze Age became the focus of an extensive ritual landscape".Corlett, Christiaan. "The Prehistoric Ritual Landscape of Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo". The Journal of Irish Archaeology, Vol. 9. Wordwell, 1998. pp.9–10
