Mangerton Mountain

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Mangerton
County Kerry
Lough Erhogh Mangerton Mountain Ireland.jpg
Mangerton with the hanging lake of Lough Erhogh
Range: Mangerton Mountains
Summit: 2,750 feet V980807
51°58’13"N, 9°29’4"W

Mangerton or Mangerton Mountain is a mountain the east of County Kerry. At 2,750 feet it is one of the highest peaks in Ireland, and is the tallest mountain in the Mangerton Mountains or 'Mangerton Mountain Group', a range that includes five other major mountains that have a height above 2,000 feet.

Mangerton's western slopes lie within the Killarney National Park. On Mangerton's north-western face lies a deep corrie lake called the Devil's Punchbowl, which is a popular scenic destination for hill walkers; although the mountain is often overlooked by walkers due to the proximity of its more scenic and accessible neighbour, Torc Mountain.

The far northern slopes of Mangerton was the site of an important 13th-century battle between the Mac Cárthaigh (MacCarthy) Gaelic forces, and the FitzGeralds, a Norman dynasty, known as the "Tooreencormick battle site".

Name

Paul Tempan notes in the Irish Hill and Mountain Names database that Mangerton is most likely an Anglicisation of An Mhangarta, meaning "the long-haired".[1] Tempan discussed the possibility that an alternative interpretation of An Mhangartach may be worth considering, as it could be the noun mangart with the suffix ach. Tempan notes P. S. Dinneen's Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla—Irish-English Dictionary (1927), defines mangart as "movement" or "shaking". Thus the adjective (not listed in any dictionary) could mean "moving", "shaking", or "quaking", which could refer to the physical movement of Mangerton bog prevalent on the southern slopes, or could be understood figuratively as meaning "vacillating" or "fickle".[1][2]

Geography

Mangerton Mountain (l), Lough Erhogh (c), and Mangerton North Top (r), from Stoompa

Mangerton's flat boggy summit plateau includes the satellite summits of Mangerton North Top 2,566 feet and Glencappul Top 2,297 feet, and its "horseshoe-shaped" massif includes the summit of Stoompa 2,313 feet.[3] The Horses' Glen (or Glencappul), and the Devil's Punchbowl carve deep hollows, or corries on the north-west and north-east sides of Mangerton's massif, but the southern flanks form a huge plateau, one of the most extensive areas of mountain wilderness in Ireland, where herds of red deer and sika deer still roam.[1]

There are three lochs that flow from Managerton's corries into the Horse's Glen (or Glencappul), namely the lowest, Lough Garagarry (Loch Garaigre), the middle, Lough Mannagh (Loch Meáin) and the Lough Erhogh, which is a hanging glacial lake set into a corrie on Mangerton's north-east face.[3]

Devil's Punchbowl on the north-west face of Mangerton

The Devil's Punchbowl sits at 2,198 feet on Mangerton's north-west face. It is a deep oval-shaped corrie filled by a loch in its base that drains into the Owengarriff River from which Torc Waterfall is formed, before finally flowing into the Lakes of Killarney below.[3] Mangerton's western slopes lie within the Killarney National Park.[4]

It has a name found elsewhere in the British Isles, but here it has attracted a local legend, about a local Chieftain O'Donoghue.[5] Chieftain O'Donoghue Ross dined with the devil on Mangerton. During an argument that developed, the chieftain punched the devil in the face and ran off down the mountain. The devil bit a chunk out of the summit and threw it after him. He missed, and it landed in Muckross Lake to form Devil's Island.[6]}}

Mangerton Mountain's height and topographic prominence, qualifies it to meet the British Isles 'Marilyn'. It ranks as the 10th-highest mountain in Ireland on the MountainViews Online Database (which sets a prominence threshold at over 100 metres.[7][8]

The Mangerton Mountains

Surrounding Mangerton are 25 other peaks with an elevation above 328 feet, in a range known as the Mangerton Mountains. The range is bounded by the "square" road system surrounding Mangerton, being the N71 to the north and the west side, the N22 to the east side, and the narrow R569 road from Kenmare to the N22 via Kilgarvan on the south side. Most notable are Dromderalough (2133 feet), and its slightly higher Dromderalough North-East Top (2146 feet), as well as Crohane (2,133 feet), and Knockbrack (2,001 feet). It also includes the tourist peak of Torc Mountain 1,755 feet in the north-west corner.[8]

Hill walking

Mangerton's summit plateau

Mangerton's flat boggy summit plateau means that it can get overlooked when guidebooks of Ireland's best walks are compiled, particularly given its proximity to the rocky ridges and summits of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks; sometimes even nearby Torc Mountain is recommended instead.[9] However, Mangerton's scale, summit views and deep corries are well regarded, and its proximity to Killarney town and ease of access are recognised by climbers.[6]

The most direct route to the summit of Mangerton is via the 4–5 hour six-mile Devil's Punchbowl Route.[10] It starts from the concrete slab bridge (at V984847), and follows a worn track southwards up to the Devil's Punchbowl at 2,200 feet, before reaching the Mangerton summit plateau by way of the west ridge of the Punchbowl, and then walking circa 300 metres across the plateau to the true summit of Mangerton itself, before returning by the same route (or taking the steeper eastern arete of the Punchbowl). The summit plateau of Mangerton can be difficult to navigate in poor or misty weather as there are few features.[6][11]

A variation of the Devil's Punchbowl Route is the inclusion of Stoompa, in a 5–6 hour eight and half mile route, that can either be done as an extension of the Devil's Punchbowl route (e.g. over and back from Mangerton's summit to Stoopma),[3] or as a "horseshoe" or "loop-route" that starts up the Devil's Punchbowl on the westside but finishes by descending down the northern slopes of Stoompa on the eastside.[12][13]

Tooreencormick battle site

Memorial stone for the 1262 battle site of Tooreencormick

The far northern slope of Mangerton was the site of a battle in 1262 between the Mac Cárthaigh forces of the Kingdom of Desmond) and the FitzGeralds, following the rout at the Battle of Callann Glen near Kilgarvan the previous year.[1] The battle site is marked on the ordnance maps and also by a commemorative stone monument, and is known as Tooreencormick (Tuairín Cormaic meaning 'Little field of Cormac')[14] after Cormac MacCarthy Reagh, who was killed during the clash (his brother Fínghin Mac Carthaigh had been killed at the Battle of Callann). Other notable knights including Gerald Roche, "the third best baron in Erin", were slain at Tooreencormick.[15] Despite the losses, the battle is considered a MacCarthy success as the Anglo-Normans were kept out of South Kerry and West Cork (i.e. the Kingdom of Desmond), for the next three centuries.[1][3][15]

In spite of such two-edged victories, the battle of Callann and Tuairin Cormaic, for good or for evil, effectually prevented the establishment of an Anglo-Norman rule in [The Kingdom of] Desmond. It is that owing to dissensions among the Irish tribes the earls of Desmond eventually ' overtopped them all ', but in the region from which they drew their title they had more of the character of a Celtic chief than of a feudal lord, and it was left to the more resolute Tudor statesman and ruthless Tudor generals to break down the clan-system there.

Outside links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tempan, Paul (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names". MountainViews.ie. http://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Paul%20Tempan%20Irish%20Mountain%20Placenames%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf. Retrieved 26 December 2018. 
  2. ↑ Paul Tempan (Queen's University Belfast) (2005). Some notes on the names of six Kerry mountains. 5. 5-19. "The names of six major Kerry mountains (Mount Brandon, Beenoskee, Mangerton, Purple Mountain, Carrauntoohil, and Coomacarrea) are considered, from the point of view both of a hill-walker and of a toponymist. Difficulties of interpretation are discussed, and some tentative solutions are offered." 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Hendroff, Adrian (16 March 2015). Killarney to Valentia Island – A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892323. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Killarney-Valentia-Island-Walking-Guides/dp/1848892322. Retrieved 26 December 2018. "Route 28: Mangerton Mountain and Stoompa" 
  4. ↑ O'Dwyer, John (7 September 2016). "Walk for the weekend: Mangerton’s secretive heights". Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/walk-for-the-weekend-mangerton-s-secretive-heights-1.2780098. Retrieved 26 December 2018. "The spectacular vistas from the highest point in Killarney National Park have to be earned." 
  5. ↑ Crofton Crocker, Thomas (1906). "The Legend of O'Donoghue – Fairy Legends of Ireland". LibraryIreland. https://www.libraryireland.com/fairylegends/legend-of-odonoghue.php. Retrieved 26 December 2018. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Doherty, Tony (6 December 2008). "Take a hearty sup from the Devil's Punchbowl". Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/take-a-hearty-sup-from-the-devil-s-punchbowl-1.920539. Retrieved 26 December 2018. 
  7. ↑ "Irish Highest 100: The highest 100 Irish mountains with a prominence of +100m". MountainViews Online Database. September 2018. https://mountainviews.ie/lists/highest/. Retrieved 26 December 2018. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7
  9. ↑ Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892118. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Irelands-Best-Walks-Walking-Guides/dp/184889211X. Retrieved 26 December 2018. "Route 46: Torc Mountain" 
  10. ↑ "Mangerton Mountain Walking Route to Summit, Killarney, Kerry". ActiveMe.ie. https://www.activeme.ie/guides/mangerton-mountain-peak-loop-above-devils-punchbowl/. Retrieved 23 December 2018. 
  11. ↑ Ryan, Jim (1 October 2012). Scenic Walks in Killarney. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848891463. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scenic-Walks-Killarney-Walking-Guides/dp/1848891466. Retrieved 26 December 2018. "Walk 15: Mangerton Mountain Circuit (10 km)" 
  12. ↑ "Mangerton and Stoompa Mtns Loop Walk Route, Killarney, Kerry". ActiveMe.ie. https://www.activeme.ie/guides/mangerton-and-stoompa-mountain-loop/. Retrieved 26 December 2018. 
  13. ↑ "Mangerton / Stoompa – Hillwalk". Corkbackpackers.ie. 9 April 2017. https://www.corkbackpackers.ie/event/mangerton-stoompa-hillwalk/. Retrieved 26 December 2018. "This is a strenuous 5 hour (13.5 km) walking route to the peaks of both Mangerton (839m) and Stoompa Mountain (705m) taking in the Devils Punchbowl, Horses Glen and the Tooreencormick Battle Field Site. The walk has spectacular views of the Devil’s Punchbowl, MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, Horses Glen, Killarney National Park and on a good day south-west to Kenmare Bay." 
  14. ↑ Tuairín Chormaic: Tooreencormack - Placenames Database of Ireland
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Goddard Orphan, Henry (1911). Ireland under the Normans 1169-1216. Oxford : Clarendon Press. pp. 142–143. https://archive.org/stream/cu31924088022631/cu31924088022631_djvu.txt. Retrieved 26 December 2018. "In 1262, joined by Walter de Burgh with a feudal army and ' a great number of the Irish ', he advanced into Desmond to give battle to Cormac, Fineen's brother, and avenge the slaughter of Callann. The opposing forces met on the slopes of Mangerton, at a place henceforth known as Tuairin Cormaic. Here Gerald Roche, ' the third best baron in Erin ', was slain, but this, we are told, was ' joy with sorrow to Desmond', for Cormac, son of Donnell Got, was slain on the same day, and great losses were suffered on both sides.'" 
  • 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. 
  • Ryan, Jim (2006). Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1905172337. 
  • Stewart, Simon (2013). A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins. Collins Books. ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7. 
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