- Mount Brandon
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Mount Brandon Cnoc Bréanainn 
Elevation 953 m (3,127 ft) [1][2][3] Prominence 934 m (3,064 ft) [1] Listing Hewitt, Marilyn Translation Brendan's hill[4] (Irish) Location Location Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland Range Dingle Mountains; Brandon Range[5] Coordinates 52°14′07″N 10°15′16″W / 52.235188°N 10.254350°W Topo map OSI Discovery #70[3] OSI/OSNI grid Q460116 Mount Brandon or Brandon Mountain (Irish: Cnoc Bréanainn, meaning "Brendan's hill")[6] is a 952 m (3123 ft) mountain on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. It is the highest peak of the unnamed central mountain range of the Dingle Peninsula and the ninth highest peak in Ireland.[1] It is also the highest Irish peak outside the Macgillycuddy's Reeks.[1]
Contents
Name
The mountain takes its name from Saint Brendan or Bréanainn (aka "The Navigator"), who legend suggests climbed to the summit around AD 530 to see the Americas, before setting sail for them. The small village of Brandon lies at the foot of the mountain, on the north side.
Geography
Brandon is in the middle of a high ridge, sometimes called the Brandon Group, which runs north-south for 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) across the peninsula. This ridge also includes the peaks of Barr an Ghéaráin at 840 metres (2,760 ft), Binn Fhaiche 822 metres (2,697 ft), Más an Tiompán at 763 metres (2,503 ft), and Piaras Mór at 748 metres (2,454 ft).[1]
Mount Brandon owes its craggy shape to the work of local glaciers during the ice age, which gouged out a series of corries on the eastern flank of the mountain. The summit of Mount Brandon is rounded and smooth because it was a nunatuk, and presents a stark contrast to the conical top of Barr an Ghéaráin, which is almost alpine in appearance. The western slope of Mount Brandon presents a huge contrast from its eastern side, as it largely escaped the gouging effect of the glaciers, with the result that it presents an almost unbroken grassy slope.
The glen on the mountain's east side is a series of rock steps, each of which includes a small Paternoster lake. There at least ten of these lakes, which grow in size as one descends the mountain.[7] From highest to lowest (and smallest to biggest) they are the Locha Chom an Chnoic (Coumaknock Loughs), Loch na Lice (Lough Nalacken) and Loch Cruite (Lough Cruttia).[7]
Masatiompan, Brandon Mountain, Brandon Peak and Ballysitteragh
Pilgrimage
Due to its link with Saint Brendan, the mountain is popular with Irish Catholic pilgrims. The path to the peak is marked by small white crosses and the peak itself is topped by a large metal cross. The pilgrimage route called Cosán na Naomh (The Saints Road) begins at Cill Mhic an Domhnaigh (Kilvickadowning) at the southern end of the peninsula and ends at Sáipéilín Bréanainn (Brendan's Oratory) on the mountain's peak.[7] Sáipéilín Bréanainn is the remains of a small stone building that was believed to have been used by Saint Brendan. The origin of Cosán na Naomh as a pilgrimage route pre-dates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, however; the historian Máire Mac Néill has argued that it has its origins in the pagan festival of the Irish god Lug.[8]
In 1997, the Heritage Council set up the Pilgrim Paths project to develop walking routes along medieval pilgrimage paths.[9] One of the routes chosen for development was Cosán na Naomh and an 18-kilometre (11-mile) long waymarked trail has been constructed between Ventry Strand and the grotto at Ballybrack at the foot of Mount Brandon.[10] The trail has been developed to the standard required by the Irish Sports Council for National Waymarked Trails in Ireland.[11] For safety reasons, it was decided not to mark the trail to the very end of the traditional route at the summit of Brandon but to finish at Ballybrack.[12] The starting point of the trail at Ventry is one of the places pilgrims arriving by boat would have come ashore.[13] The trail passes a number of important ecclesiastical heritage sites including Gallarus Oratory and Kilmalkedar monastic site.[14] The route has the greatest concentration of stones marked with the "cross of arcs", one of the principal symbols of pilgrimage in Ireland.[15]
Gallery
The Brandon range
Cosán na Naomh at about 500 m
Cosán na Naomh, nearer the summit
Summit
Shrine at the foot of the mountain
BrandonSee also
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e MountainViews.ie
- ^ Peakbagger
- ^ a b Ordnance Survey Ireland (2000). No. 70 - Kerry (Map). 1 : 60,000, Discovery Series (2nd ed.). ISBN 1-901496-59-7.
- ^ Dillon, Paddy (1996) [1993]. The Moundains of Ireland. Cicerone Press. ISBN 1-85284-110-9.
- ^ "FAQ - Highest Mountains in Ireland". Ordnance Survey Ireland. 2002. http://www.osi.ie/en/faq/faqs.aspx#faq1. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
- ^ a b c Ordnance Survey Ireland - Online map viewer
- ^ Harbison & Lynam 2002, p. 17.
- ^ "The Pilgrim Paths". Heritage Council. http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/recreation/heritage-council-initiatives/the-pilgrim-paths/. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "Cosán na Naomh, Co. Kerry". Heritage Council. http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/recreation/heritage-council-initiatives/the-pilgrim-paths/cosan-na-naomh/. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ O Caoimh 2004, p. 8.
- ^ Harbison & Lynam 2002, p. 19.
- ^ Harbison & Lynam 2002, p. 25.
- ^ Harbison & Lynham 2002, p. 22.
- ^ O Caoimh 2004, p. 4.
Bibliography
- Harbison, Peter; Lynam, Joss (2002). Cosán na Naomh: The Saint's Road, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry. Medieval Irish Pilgtim Paths. No. 1. Kilkenny: Heritage Council. ISBN 1-9011-37-309.
- O Caoimh, Thomas (2004). "The Pilgrim's Path: Promoting Sustainable Development of Walking Routes through Sacred Sites in Ireland". Learning from World Heritage: Lessons from International Preservation and Stewardship of Cultural and Ecological Landscapes of Global Significance. 7th US/ICOMOS Symposium, 25-27 March 2004, Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA. http://www.usicomos.org/symp/archive/2004/docs/caoimh-4771. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
External links
- Description WWII FW200 Brandon Mountain Crash
- Photographs Crash Site Mount Brandon Eire 1996
- Cosán na Naomh at the Heritage Council
Mountains and hills of Munster List of mountains in Ireland Ballyhoura Mountains Carron Mountain • Seefin
Boggeragh Mountains Caha Mountains Hungry Hill • SugarloafComeragh Mountains Derrynasaggart Mountains Dingle Peninsula Benoskee • BrandonGaltee Mountains Galteemore • LyracappulIveragh Peninsula BenteeKnockmealdown Mountains Macgillycuddy's Reeks Mangerton Mountains Shehy Mountains Silvermine Mountains Slieve Mish Mountains Bartregaum • CaherconreeSlieve Miskish Mountains Others An Triúr Deirfiúr • Devil's Bit • Geokaun Mountain • Mount Gabriel • Mullaghareirk Mountains • Paps of Anu • Purple Mountain • Slieve Aughty • Slievecallan • SlievenamonLong-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland National Waymarked Trails Ballyhoura Way · Barrow Way · Bealach na Gaeltachta, Dún na nGall · Beara Way · Blackwater Way · Bluestack Way · Burren Way · Cavan Way · Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail · Dingle Way · Dublin Mountains Way · East Clare Way · East Munster Way · Grand Canal Way · Hymany Way · Kerry Way · Lough Derg Way · Mid Clare Way · Miners Way and Historical Trail · Monaghan Way · Multeen Way · Nore Valley Way · North Kerry Way · Offaly Way · Royal Canal Way · Sheep's Head Way · Slieve Bloom Way · Slieve Felim Way · Sligo Way · South Leinster Way · Suck Valley Way · Táin Way · Tipperary Heritage Way · Western Way · Westmeath Way · Wicklow Way
Pilgrim Paths Greenways Great Southern Trail · Great Western GreenwayOther Bangor Trail · Malin to MizenCategories:- Marilyns of Ireland
- Hewitts of Ireland
- Mountains and hills of County Kerry
- Historic trails and roads in Ireland
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