Galtee Mountains

The Galtee Mountains from the north

The Galtee Mountains (also spelled 'Galty Mountains') stand in the west of the Counties of Cork and Limerick.

The highest of the range is Galtymore, which climbs to 3,011 feet, making it a Furth Munro (one of only 13 in Ireland) and with its summit marking the county border it is also the county top of both Cork and Limerick.

The Galtee Mountains are of sandstone and shale, with 24 peaks above 1,200 feet. The range runs which runs east-west for 18 miles between the two counties. A 5–6 hour Circuit of Glencushnabinnia walk runs over the mountains, and a 10–hour east-to-west crossing of the entire range, called the Galtee Crossing, is climbed annually in the Galtee Challenge.

The range was historically named Sliabh gCrot (the hump mountains), anglicised as "Slievegrot"; or Crotta Cliach (the humps of Cliú), after the territory of Cliú.

Galtymore and its deep corrie lakes are associated with various Irish folklore tales regarding Saint Patrick and serpents.

Geography

• Location map: 52°21’58"N, 8°10’45"W

Galtymore's eastern summit ridge (centre), and northern cliffs (right)

The climbing guidebook writer Paddy Dillion said of the range: "the lofty Galty Mountains have forested flanks; and there is much heather, bogs, and steep slopes, but the effort is worth it and Galtymore is a splendid viewpoint".

The Galty (or "Galtee") Mountains are a broadly straight grass-covered range of mountains stretching about 20 miles east-west with a nine-mile central ridge section, stretching from Greenane (2,628 feet) in the east, to 'Temple Hill (2,569 feet) in the west. This central ridge section includes the highest peaks: Galtymore (3,011 feet), Lyracappul (2,707 feet), Carrignabinnia (2,700 feet), and Slievecushnabinnia (2,543 feet). Many of the peaks of the central section have a moderate topographical prominence, which means that the central ridge maintains a reasonably sustained height; an attractive feature for hill walkers.

Of the 24 peaks of the Galty range with a height above 1,200 feet, 13 exceed 2,000 feet. The Galtys are described as Ireland's highest "inland" range.

Galtymore and Galtybeg stand near the middle of the range and their north faces show evidence of glacial erosion with a number of deep corries, most of which are now occupied by loughs. Between Galtymore and Galtybeg lies Lough Diheen, while Lough Curra lies between Galtymore and Slievecushnabinnia.

The peaks

Galty has 24 peaks with a height above 1,000 feet.

Peaks of the Galty Mountains

Rank	Name	Irish (if different)	Translation	Height (ft)	Prom. (ft)	Height (m)	Prom. (m)	Map	OSI Grid Ref
1	Galtymore	Cnoc Mór na nGaibhlte	big hill of the Galtys	3,011 feet	2,946 ft	918 m	898 m	74	R878238
2	Lyracappul	Ladhar an Chapaill	fork/confluence of the horse	2,708 feet	328 ft	825 m	100 m	74	R845232
3	Carrignabinnia	Carraig na Binne	rock of the peak	2,700 feet	88 ft	823 m	27 m	74	R850237
4	Greenane	An Grianán	sunny spot	2,629 feet	515 ft	801 m	157 m	74	R925239
5	Galtybeg	—	—	2,622 feet	263 ft	799 m	80 m	74	R890241
6	Greenane West	—	—	787 feet	39 ft	2,582 m	129 m	74	R910239
7	Temple Hill	Cnoc an Teampaill	hill of the church	2,569 feet	617 feet	783 m	188 m	74	R833218
8	Slievecushnabinnia	Sliabh Chois na Binne	mountain beside the peak	2,542 feet	92 ft	775 m	28 m	74	R858240
9	Knockaterriff	Cnoc an Tairbh	hill of the bull	2,269 feet	168 ft	692 m	51 m	74	R848216
10	Knockaterriff Beg	Cnoc an Tairbh Beag	hill of the little bull	2,229 feet	91 ft	679 m	28 m	74	R844222
11	Cush	Cois	side/flank	2,104 feet	578 ft	641 m	176 m	74	R894262
12	Monabrack	Móin Bhreac	speckled moor	2,067 feet	308 ft	630 m	94 m	74	R859219
13	Laghtshanaquilla	Leacht Sheanchoille	burial monument of the old wood	2,065 feet	118 ft	629 m	36 m	74	R951250
14	Knockeenatoung	Cnoicín na Teanga	hill of the tongue	1,973 feet	218 ft	601 m	66 m	74	R895219
15	Lough Curra Mt	—	—	1,970 feet	75 ft	600 m	23 m	74	R869242
16	Laghtshanaquilla NE Top	—	—	1,962 feet	62 ft	598 m	19 m	74	R957256
17	Knockastakeen	Cnoc an Stáicín	hill of the little stack	1,913 feet	256 ft	583 m	78 m	74	R915258
18	Sturrakeen	An Starraicín	"the pointed peak" or "the steeple"	1,777 feet	151 ft	542 m	46 m	74	R973253
19	Benard	An Bhinn Ard	the high peak	1,573 feet	277 ft	480 m	85 m	74	R821199
20	Slieveanard NE Top	—	—	1,471 feet	210 ft	449 m	64 m	74	S005264
21	Seefin	Suí Finn	Fionn's seat	1,465 feet	136 ft	447 m	42 m	74	R891197
22	Seefin N Top	—	—	1,457 feet	128 ft	444 m	39 m	74	R888206
23	Slieveanard	Sliabh an Aird	mountain of the height	1,436 feet	108 ft	438 m	33 m	74	R992258
24	Slievenamuck	Sliabh Muice	mountain of the pig	1,211 feet	768 ft	369 m	234 m	66	R842306

Geology

The geology of the Galty Mountains is described as being Old Red Sandstone, from the Devonian period, and Silurian shales. Old Red Sandstone is also common in MacGillycuddy's Reeks in County Kerry, and as well as having a purple–reddish colour, is also devoid of fossils.

The southern smooth slopes of the Galty range give way to a steep northern face, pocked with deep corries and their accompanying moraine lakes. The long central ridge of the Galtys, which runs for about nine miles in an east-west direction, was too high to be overridden by the inland ice-sheets, and although it resulted in the creation of small corrie glaciers, its summits are capped by tors formed from conglomerate rock (known as the Slievenamuck Conglomerate Formation).

Hill walking

Galtybeg and Lough Dihneen on the Circuit of Glencushnabinnia

The most straightforward route to the summit of Galtymore is from the south by the 5½ mile, 3–4 hour Black Road Route, which starts at the end of the Black Road car park (R893204) (accessed from the R639 road near the village of Skeheenarinky), and summits Galtybeg (2,621 feet), before the main summit of Galtymore. It then retraces its route back to the Black Road car park.

Lough Curra below Galtymore, from Slievecushnabinnia

The 7½-mile, 5–6 hour Circuit of Glencushnabinnia, follows a loop around Galtymore's deep northern corries at Lough Curra and Lough Dihneen. It is described as the "connoisseur's route". It starts at the forest car park (R875278) near the Clydagh Bridge in the north, and climbs Cush (2,103 feet), Galtybeg (2,556 feet), Galtymore and Slievecushnabinnia (2543 feet), before returning to the start; or it can be done anti–clockwise.

Western Galtys: Slievecushnabinnia, Carrignabinnia, and Lyracappul

The annual Galtee Challenge organised by the Galtee Walking Club is the full 19½-mile east-to-west crossing of the range, taking over 10 hours . This, also called the Galtee Crossing, and takes in all major peaks of the Galty Mountains. The challenge normally starts in Cahir in the east, and finishes in Anglesboro Village, in the west. Despite the distance, longer than the MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk, the 10–hour estimate is reasonable as the variation in elevation is moderate.

Folklore

Lough Dihneen

The mountains appear in Irish folk tales, and the deep corrie lakes of the Galtys were believed to be enchanted. In early Irish literature, the mountains are called [Sliab] Crotta Cliach (the [mountain] humps of Cliú), which was the name of the surrounding territory. As ‘’Lang|ga|crotta’’ can also mean a Celtic harp, the name was interpreted as "mountains of Cliach's harps", and there is a tale of a legendary harper called Cliach playing his harps in the mountains to woo an otherworldly woman who lived in the summit cairn on Slievenamon. After failing, he played his two harps together, and the hill burst open and formed a lake. This lake is Lough Muskry, which is named after the Múscraige people that lived in the south of Ireland.

Lake Muskry was formerly known as Loch Béal Séad (lake of the jewel mouth) and also as Loch Béal Dracon (lake of the dragon's mouth). The oldest mention of the name is in the tale entitled Aislinge Óenguso (The Dream of Aengus) which dates from c.750 AD. This states: Mac Og went to Loch Bél Draccon when he saw the 150 white birds at the loch with their silvery chains and golden caps around their heads. The next oldest mention is in the Dindsenchas, composed c.1000. The Metrical Dindsenchas of Crotta Cliach states: At the spot where he died of terror, Cliach sang sweet melody; there seized him there suddenly, not unprotected, the loathly dragon that dwells in this place - Loch Bel Dragon. The Rennes Dindsenchas also relates a further tale of Saint Fursey drowning the dragon in the lake. There is a folk tale of a serpent that was killing livestock on the Galty Mountains being banished by Saint Patrick and confined to Lake Muskry. According to the tale, Saint Patrick chained the serpent under the lake and promised to release the creature on Lá an Luan (the Day of Judgement), which the serpent mistook as An Luain (Monday or Easter Monday). The serpent comes up each Easter Monday and asks "Is it the Monday morning yet Patrick?" and Patrick says "No", and the serpent goes down again for another year. The same legend is also associated with Lough Dihneen, below Galtybeg. The belief in the serpent under Lough Dihneen was held so strongly that a Captain Dawson, a local landlord, attempted to drain Lough Dihneen in the 1830s to kill the serpent.

Folk tales attribute the banishing of the serpent by Saint Patrick with the subsequent richness of farming in the area. In addition to local folklore, Lake Muskry also features in Irish mythological tales.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Galtee Mountains)

• MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website, Galtymore
• The Database of British and Irish Hills

References

• Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. ISBN 978-1852841102. 
• Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892118. 
• O'Dwyer, John G. (2018). The Comeragh, Galtee, Knockmealdown & Slieve Bloom Mountains: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848893474. 
• Stewart, Simon (2013). A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins. Collins Books. ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7.