Iconic Mountain Peaks

Quartzite cones, glaciated ridges, and Ireland's highest summits

Though modest in altitude compared to alpine ranges, Ireland's coastal mountains rise straight from sea level to deliver steep, rewarding climbs. From the jagged sandstone ridges of Macgillycuddy's Reeks to quartzite cones in Donegal and Connemara, summit views stretch across loughs and Atlantic bays. These ten peaks represent the island's classic climbs.

Peak County Kerry

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.

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Peak County Meath

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.

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Peak County Mayo

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.

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Peak County Sligo

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.

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Peak County Donegal

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.

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Peak County Kerry

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".

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Peak County Galway

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.

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Peak County Donegal

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.

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Peak County Antrim

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.

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#10

Peak County Tipperary

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.

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