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The Tochar Padraig is a pilgrimage of mediaeval origin, based on traditions which go back to the very dawn of Christianity in Ireland.

St Patrick fasted for 40 days and 40 nights on Croagh Patrick before beginning his mission of preaching the Gospel to the pagan Irish in the mid-fifth century, in imitation of Moses, Elias and Our Lord. Among his first activities was to baptise converts at a well some distance from the mountain. This place came to be known as Baile an Tobair, or Ballintubber, the town of the well.

In 1216, Cathal Crovderg O'Connor, King of Connaught and brother of the last High King of Ireland, built an abbey for the Augustinian Canons Regular there. Ballintubber Abbey, which opened in 1220, was suppressed at the Reformation, but continued in use until it was burned down by Cromwellian troops in 1653, having been taken over by the Augustinian Friars in 1603. Catholics came to the ruined abbey in penal times to hear Mass and, after the lifting of the Penal Laws, Masses were still held in the roofless abbey until it was restored in 1966. Since then, it has been a parish church. It is the only church in use in Ireland where Mass has been said continuously since its foundation in the thirteenth century.

The Tochar Padraig follows the route of a highway which went from the ancient seat of the Kings of Connaught in Cruachan to Croagh Patrick. This was in use before the building of the abbey, and the Canons Regular included a hostel for pilgrims in the original plan. The path was one of the major pilgrimage walks in Ireland until the suppression of the pilgrimage around 1588 when it went into decline. The Tochar Padraig was restored from Ballintubber Abbey in 1987 and that is the route used for the Latin Mass Society of Ireland pilgrimage since it was initiated in 1998. Since then, it has become possible to walk the Tochar from Balla but, for the time being, the LMSI will use the more established route.

The Tochar Padraig pilgrimage is approximately 22 miles (35.4 km) and Croagh Patrick is 2,510 feet (765 metres) high. The walk takes place over a Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and afternoon, beginning with Mass in Ballintubber Abbey and ending with the ascent and descent of Croagh Patrick. Overnight (very basic) accommodation is provided in Aughagower. If a pilgrim cannot complete the walk or requires transport at any point, support will be provided, enabling the pilgrim to drop out. The walk is a mixture of roads and cross-country with a variety of terrains. Much of the walk is over private land, and pilgrims are asked to respect the property of those who generously allow us to walk over their land. Even in July, the weather in Co Mayo is unpredictable. The ground may be wet due to previous rains, even if the Tochar days are dry. The summit of Croagh Patrick can be very cold, even on warm days, and pilgrims are asked to take this into account in their preparations.