Mountains & National Parks

Major peaks, national parks, and protected nature reserves

1624 places

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Carrauntoohil — photo by Enter

Carrauntoohil

Carrauntoohil, Carrauntoohill or Carrantuohill (, KARR-ən-TOO-əl; Irish: Corrán Tuathail [ˌkɔɾˠaːn̪ˠ ˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ], meaning "Tuathal's sickle") is the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,038.6 metres (3,407 feet 6 inches). It is on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, close to the centre of Ireland's highest mountain range, MacGillycuddy's Reeks. Carrauntoohil is composed mainly of sandstone, whose glaciation produced distinctive features on the mountain such as the Eagle's Nest corrie and some deep gullies and sharp arêtes in its east and northeastern faces that are popular with rock and winter climbers. As Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil is popular with mountain walkers, who most commonly ascend via the Devil's Ladder route; however, Carrauntoohil is also climbed as part of longer mountain walking routes in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range, including the 15-kilometre (9+1⁄2 mi) Coomloughra Horseshoe or the 26-kilometre (16 mi) MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk of the entire mountain range. Carrauntoohil, and most of the range is held in private ownership and is not part of any Irish national park; however, reasonable access is granted to the public for recreational use.

Hill of Tara — photo by Patrick Brown

Hill of Tara

The Hill of Tara (Irish: Teamhair or Cnoc na Teamhrach) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. Tara consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age—including a passage tomb (the "Mound of the Hostages"), burial mounds, round enclosures, a standing stone (believed to be the Lia Fáil or "Stone of Destiny"), and a ceremonial avenue. There is also a church and graveyard on the hill. Tara forms part of a larger ancient landscape and Tara itself is a protected national monument under the care of the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Irish Government.

Croagh Patrick — photo by EamonnPKeane at English Wikipedia

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Croagh Patrick

Croagh Patrick (Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning '(Saint) Patrick's stack'), nicknamed 'the Reek', is a mountain with a height of 764 m (2,507 ft) and an important site of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland. The mountain has a pyramid-shaped peak and overlooks Clew Bay, rising above the village of Murrisk, several kilometres from Westport. It has long been seen as a holy mountain. It was the focus of a prehistoric ritual landscape, and later became associated with Saint Patrick, who is said to have spent forty days fasting on the summit. There has been a church on the summit since the 5th century; the current church dates to the early 20th century. Croagh Patrick is climbed by thousands of pilgrims every year on Reek Sunday, the last Sunday in July, a custom which goes back to at least the Middle Ages. Croagh Patrick is the fourth-highest mountain in the province of Connacht on the P600 listing after Mweelrea, Nephin and Barrclashcame. It is part of a longer east–west ridge; the lower westernmost peak is named Ben Goram.

Benbulbin — photo by Hellowiki789

Benbulbin

Benbulbin (Irish: Binn Ghulbain), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a steep-sided and flat-topped mountain in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country". Benbulbin, 526 m (1,726 ft) high, formed as a nunatak during the last Ice Age. Benbulbin is a protected site, designated as a County Geological Site by Sligo County Council.

Sliabh Liag — photo by Tony Webster from Portland, Oregon, United States

Sliabh Liag

Slieve League (Irish: Sliabh Liag, meaning 'mountain of stone pillars') is a mountain on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, Ireland. At 601 metres (1,972 ft), it has the second-highest sea cliffs in Ireland, after Croaghaun, and some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe. In his 1937 memoir The Way That I Went, the Irish naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger wrote of the location: A tall mountain of nearly 2000 feet, precipitous on its northern side, has been devoured by the sea till the southern face forms a precipice likewise, descending on this side right into the Atlantic from the long knife-edge which forms the summit. The traverse of this ridge, the "One Man's Path", is one of the most remarkable walks to be found in Ireland - not actually dangerous, but needing a good head and careful progress on a stormy day....The northern precipice, which drops 1500 feet into the coomb surrounding the Little Lough Agh, harbours the majority of the alpine plants of Slieve League, the most varied group of alpines to be found anywhere in Donegal. Slieve League is often photographed from a viewpoint known as Bunglass. It can be reached by means of a narrow road that departs from Teelin. The final few kilometres of the route are built along a precipice and include several places at which the road turns at the crest of a rise.

Cnoc Bréanainn — photo by Colin Park

Cnoc Bréanainn

Mount Brandon or Brandon (Irish: Cnoc Bréanainn, meaning 'Brendan's hill'), at 952 metres (3,123 ft), is one of the ten highest peaks in Ireland, being the 8th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 9th–highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Brandon is the highest Irish mountain outside the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range and has the greatest prominence of any Irish peak except Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain. Mount Brandon is at the centre of a long high ridge called the Brandon Group range of mountains in the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The ridge contains seven other major peaks (i.e. above 2,000 ft in height); one is the similarly named Brandon Peak (840 metres). The positioning and dimensions of the Brandon Group ridge have made it the scene of several air accidents over the years. The mountain, and range, is named after Saint Brendan, and is the end of a Christian pilgrimage trail known as Cosán na Naomh. It is also well regarded for hill walking with routes such as the 4–5-hour Faha Route (also called The Pilgrim's Path), and the 6–7-hour traverse of the entire range known as "one of the finest ridgewalks in Ireland".

Páirc Naisiúnta Ghleann Bheatha - Glenveagh National Park — photo by Patrice78500

National ParkDonegal

Páirc Naisiúnta Ghleann Bheatha - Glenveagh National Park

Glenveagh ( glen-VAY; Irish: Gleann Bheatha, meaning 'glen of the birches') is the second-largest national park in all of Ireland. Located in County Donegal, it includes: Glenveagh Castle and its grounds; Lough Veagh; and much of the Derryveagh Mountains. National parks in Ireland conform to IUCN standards. As of 2024, Glenveagh is the only national park anywhere in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.

Binn Ghuaire — photo by Patrice78500

Binn Ghuaire

Diamond Hill or Bengooria (Irish: Binn Ghuaire, meaning 'Guaire's peak') is an isolated peak overlooking the village of Letterfrack, in the northwest corner of the Twelve Bens in Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland. At only 442 metres (1,450 ft), it does not rank as an Arderin, or a Vandeleur-Lynam; however, it has the prominence to rank as a Marilyn. Diamond Hill lies just west of Knockbrack and the small massif of Benbrack, and looks into the Polladirk valley, around which several major Bens are located. Despite its moderate size and isolation, compared to the nearby Twelve Bens, Diamond Hill is a popular peak due to its paths and boarded mountain trail, and relative ease of access, together with views of the core Twelve Bens range, and western Connemara.

Muckish — photo by C.B.Doak (user Zorba the Geek)

Muckish

Muckish (Irish: Mucais / an Mhucais, meaning '[the] pig's back') is a distinctive flat-topped mountain in the Derryveagh Mountains of County Donegal, Ireland. At 667.1 metres (2,189 ft), it is the third-highest peak in the Derryveagh Mountains and the 163rd highest in Ireland. Muckish is also the most northern and second highest of the mountain chain called the "Seven Sisters" by locals. The Seven Sisters are Muckish, Crocknalaragagh, Aghla Beg, Ardloughnabrackbaddy, Aghla More, Mackoght, and Errigal.

Slemish — photo by Man vyi

Slemish

Slemish, historically called Slieve Mish (from Irish Sliabh Mis, meaning 'Mis's mountain'), is a hill in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies a few miles east of Ballymena, in the townland of Carnstroan. Tradition holds that Saint Patrick, enslaved as a youth, was brought to this area and tended sheep herds on Slemish, and that during this time he found God. Slemish is the remains of the plug of an extinct volcano. The plug is made of olivine dolerite and was formed during the Palaeogene period of the Earth's geological history. Its distinctive appearance — its upper reaches are very steep and rugged, in contrast to the tidy fields on its lower westward-facing slopes and the relatively flat bogland to the east — causes it to dominate the landscape for miles around. Slemish is within an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and, therefore, helps to protect and manage the fragile animal and plant communities that inhabit its slopes. An ideal location for bird watchers, large black ravens, buzzards, wheatears and meadow pipits can be seen regularly.

Devil's Bit Mountain — photo by Paddy Ryan

Devil's Bit Mountain

The Devil's Bit or Devil's Bit Mountain (Irish: Bearnán Éile, meaning 'little gapped hill of Éile', historically anglicized as 'Barnane Ely') is a large hill in County Tipperary, Ireland, which rises to 480 metres (1,570 ft). It lies north-west of the town of Templemore. The mountain is usually climbed through the townland of Barnane. There is a car park at the base.

Kippure — photo by Sarah777 at English Wikipedia

Kippure

Kippure (; Irish: Cipiúr) at 757 metres (2,484 ft), is the 56th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 72nd-highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Kippure is situated in the far northern sector of the Wicklow Mountains, where it lies on the border of counties Dublin and Wicklow in Ireland. Kippure is the County Top for Dublin, and its height and positioning over Dublin city have made its summit an important site for transmission masts, which are highly visible from a distance. Kippure's slopes feed into the Liffey Head Bog which forms the source of the River Liffey. The summit can be easily accessed from the east via a path that lies off the R115 (also called the "Military Road") road along the route to the Sally Gap.

Burren National Park — photo by The Banner

National ParkClare

Burren National Park

Burren National Park (Irish: Páirc Náisiúnta Bhoirne) is one of eight national parks in Ireland managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It covers a small part of the Burren, a karst landscape in County Clare. Burren National Park was founded and opened to the public in 1991. It features 1,500 hectares of mountains, bogs, heaths, grasslands and forests. The park is the smallest of Ireland's national parks.

Divis — photo by Ross

Divis

Divis (; from Irish Dubhais, "black ridge") is a hill and area of sprawling moorland north-west of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. With a height of 1,568 ft (478 m), it is the highest of the Belfast Hills. It is joined with the neighbouring Black Mountain, and in the past they may have been seen as one. Divis transmitting station is on the summit. The mountain extends north to the Antrim Plateau and shares its geology, consisting of a basaltic cover underlain by limestone and lias clay. In 2004 the Divis area and its surrounding mountains were handed over to the National Trust, having been under the control of the Ministry of Defence since 1953. Since then four walking trails have been developed, of varying lengths and taking walkers to different points of interest. These are the Lough, Summit, Heath and Ridge trails.

Sawel — photo by Kifster

Sawel

Sawel Mountain (from Irish Samhail Phite Méabha, meaning 'the likeness of Méabh's vulva') is the highest peak in the Sperrin Mountains, and the 8th highest in Northern Ireland. It is also the highest mountain in Northern Ireland outside of the Mourne Mountain range located in County Down.

An Bhinn Bhán — photo by Britishfinance

An Bhinn Bhán

Benbaun (Irish: Binn Bhán, meaning 'white peak') is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of 729 metres (2,392 ft), it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Benbaun is situated at the centre of the core massif of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park and is the tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, and the county top for Galway.

Mullach Glas — photo by Joebater at English Wikipedia

Mullach Glas

The Maumturks or Maamturks (Irish: Sléibhte Mhám Toirc; mountains of the boar's pass) is a mountain range in Connemara, County Galway, in the west of Ireland. It is a long, broadly-straight range, consisting of weathered quartzite peaks in its central section. The Maumturks lie east of the Twelve Bens, on the other side of Lough Inagh and the Inagh Valley (a Western Way route).

Slieve Croob — photo by Brian Shaw

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Slieve Croob

Slieve Croob (SLEEV CROOB; from Irish Sliabh Crúibe 'mountain of the hoof') is a mountain with a height of 534 metres (1,752 ft) in the middle of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the heart of a mountainous area, the Dromara Hills, north of the Mourne Mountains. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is the source of the River Lagan. There is a small road to the summit, where there is an ancient burial cairn and several transmitter stations with radio masts. It has wide views over all of County Down and further afield. The Dromara Hills also includes Slievenisky, Cratlieve, Slievegarran and Slievenaboley. Slieve Croob may have been the mountain named Brí Erigi or Brí Airige in medieval writings. The cairn on its summit is believed to be the remains of an ancient burial mound, possibly of a passage tomb like the one on Slieve Gullion. In the 19th century it was recorded to be 77 yards (70 m) around and 18 yards (16 m) in "conical height", with forty-two "pillar stones" or kerbstones around the edge. The cairn would have had a well-defined shape when it was built. Still, over time it has slipped and been damaged by visitors. Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage such cairns. Some of its stones have been piled into smaller cairns on top of it, which led to the summit being nicknamed 'The Twelve Cairns'. Traditionally, people would gather on the summit at Lughnasadh where they would add a stone to one of the cairns. They would collect and eat bilberries and there would be folk music, dancing and games. Local people still climb the mountain on the first Sunday in August (referred to as Cairn Sunday or Blaeberry Sunday), and carry a stone up the mountain to help bury the twelve Kings, who are said to be buried at the top. Legannany Dolmen sits on the southern slopes of Slieve Croob near the village of Leitrim.

Sugarloaf — photo by Jonathan Billinger

Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf is a 552 metres (1,811 ft) peak in west County Wicklow, Ireland that lies on the northern edge of the Glen of Imaal. With a prominence of only 14 metres (46 ft), it is not listed in any of the recognised categories of mountains in Ireland, and is a subsidiary summit of Lobawn 636 metres (2,087 ft), to the north. Sugarloaf should not be confused with the better known Great Sugar Loaf 501 metres (1,644 ft), and the Little Sugar Loaf 342 metres (1,122 ft) in the northeastern section of the Wicklow Mountains.

Slieve Na Calliagh — photo by Bill Griffiths

Slieve Na Calliagh

Slieve na Calliagh (Irish: Sliabh na Caillí or Sliabh na Cailleach, meaning 'the Cailleach's mountain') are a range of hills and ancient burial site near Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland. The summit is 276 metres (906 ft), the highest point in the county. On the hilltops are about twenty passage tombs, some decorated with rare megalithic art, which were built in the 4th millennium BC. Also called the Loughcrew tombs, it is a protected National Monument and is one of the main passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland, along with Brú na Bóinne, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore.

Mount Gabriel — photo by Kondephy

PeakCork

Mount Gabriel

Mount Gabriel (Irish: Cnoc Osta) is a large hill on the Mizen Peninsula, north of the town of Schull in County Cork, Ireland. The name Cnoc Osta means 'hill of the encampment', and was historically anglicized as 'Knock Hast'. Mount Gabriel is 407 m (1,335 ft) high and is the highest eminence in the coastal zone south and east of Bantry Bay. A roadway serving the radar installations on the summit is open to the public. From the peak of Mount Gabriel, there are views south over Schull Harbour and Long Island Bay. To the east and southeast, the views take in Roaringwater Bay and its many islands, known as Carbery's Hundred Isles. North and west are the mountains of the Beara Peninsula and south Kerry. Fastnet Rock is approximately 18 km (11 mi) to the south, and is visible in fine weather.

Hungry Hill — photo by Ericpol (talk)

PeakCork

Hungry Hill

Hungry Hill or Knockday (Irish: Cnoc Daod) is the highest of the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula in Munster, Ireland.

Knockboy — photo by Richard Webb

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Knockboy

Knockboy (Irish: An Cnoc Buí, meaning 'yellow mountain') is a 706-metre-high mountain on the border between counties Cork and Kerry in Ireland.

Purple Mountain — photo by mozzercork from Republic of Ireland

Purple Mountain

Purple Mountain (Irish: an Sliabh Corcra) at 832 metres (2,730 ft) high, is the 21st–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 28th–highest according to the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. It is located in County Kerry, and is the highest point of the Purple Mountain Group.

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