It is easy to walk past without a second glance. But this modest cairn, a leacht in Irish, a type of penitential monument associated with early Christian devotion, marks the formal beginning of one of Ireland's oldest continuous pilgrimage routes. It is the first station on the traditional ascent, and it carries a name that points directly to a largely forgotten companion of Saint Patrick.

The monument is recorded on Ordnance Survey maps as far back as 1838 under the name Leacht Mionnain, though the same survey letters clarify that the more correct form is Leacht Benain, meaning the Monument of Saint Benignus. Benignus, also known as Benen, was said to be a close disciple of Saint Patrick, and his association with this particular spot on Croagh Patrick places the site within a layer of early medieval devotional geography. The 1838 OS Letters, compiled as part of a wider effort to document Irish place names and antiquities, describe the ritual in precise terms: at this heap of stones, the pilgrim recites seven Paters, seven Aves, and one Creed, then walks around the leacht seven times. That sevenfold repetition, characteristic of penitential circuits found at early Irish religious sites, suggests the station belongs to a devotional tradition that predates any formal Church regulation of the pilgrimage.

The cairn sits at the base of the conical upper section of the mountain, where the gradient sharpens noticeably. A separate cairn lies approximately 85 metres to the east. Repatron Sunday, known locally as Garland Sunday and falling on the last Sunday of July, remains the principal day for the traditional pilgrimage, and it is on that day that the stations along the route, including this one, are most actively observed. Outside of that occasion, the leacht tends to receive little ceremony, a quietly significant pile of stones on a well-worn mountain path.