Slievenamon

slievenamon

Before Christmas, I want to squeeze in a blog about the most beautiful mountain in Co. Tipperary – Sliabh na mBan, or Slievenamon. In the ancient times, when the slopes of the mountain were covered with forest of hazel, beech, oak and alder, young giant warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill went out hunting deer. It is when he met Sadhbh, the daughter of the magician Dearg,  in a form of a white doe. Sadhbh was turned into a deer by a druid Fear Doirich – Dark Man – whom she refused to marry.

The forest is long gone, but the magic remains. Slievenamon has a troubled history, and who knows, may be the Dark Man is to blame.

When driving from Clonmel to Waterford and back, Slievenamon is always in your sight. Seasons change, but Slievenamon doesn’t.

slievenamon

slievenamon

The only change is an occasional layer of snow on the top.

There are a few cute little villages at the foot of Slievenamon. Kilcash is the one from where Slievenamon can be climbed. Another place to visit in Kilcash is Medieval church and graveyard, and the ruins of the Butler Castle behind it.

kilcash church

kilcash graveyard

Standing in the graveyard, I look at the path I am going to take to reach the summit.

slievenamon

For a fit local resident climbing Slievenamon is a piece of cake, and it takes less than 50 minutes ( elevation 2,365 ft, climb 1500 ft ). People walk there with their dogs.  I have been to the summit only once, when I was much younger. Since then I was only able to make it to the stone wall half way to the summit. The good news – you won’t get lost because there is a distinct track.

y2013-006-19-064

slievenamon

slievenamon

slievenamon

Waterford bridge is 40 km away, but I can clearly see it.

Closer to the summit, it is cold and misty.

slievenamon

The ‘false summit’ – rather flat, with a pile of rocks (cairn) in the middle ( I am standing on it). Some people pick up a rock at the foot of the mountain and take it to the cairn to add to the pile. I was barely able to take myself up there… The cairn marks an entrance to the underworld, they say. Who knows. A less distinct path takes me a few meters higher to the real summit. Unfortunately I have lost the photograph. There is a waist-high standing stone up there.

slievenamon

On the other side of the valley there are beautiful Comeragh Mountains. I will write about them in January.

slievenamon

Always nice to see  a friendly face. Walking down the mountain does not take that long.

yy2013-175_1

And here is a famous Irish song Slievenamon for you to enjoy.

I share a link to the blog Walking in Sonoma County…mostly , and also to La Audacia de Aquiles mythology blog. Please visit and follow 🙂 I will be back with more historical facts and myths about this beautiful mountain.

www.inesemjphotography.comHave a wonderful weekend!

109 comments

  1. I saved this one last evening because I knew as ever, reading would be a pleasure. I glad I waited. Smooth chronicle, and gentle words. A pure joy to read.

    1. Thank you so much, Mike. You are always so very kind and generous with your comments. This mountain has quite a history both mythological and real. I will write another post, but first I have to walk to the top again, for more pictures 🙂

  5. I like the mythical story that goes with the place as this one. It makes you wonder about the place and how people came up with the story. The long waking path up the hill reminds me of the similar looking around Moher cliff. Love the picture of friendly face 🙂

    1. Thank you so much! 🙂 Yes, you are so right, the walk to the cliffs of Moher is quite steep. Now they have rebuilt the place, and made a couple of stairs of concrete steps for the easier access.
      Slievenamon is really steep. To get to the top I have to stop after every few steps to catch my breath. Too steep, and 721m elevation is quite high. Instead of one hour, I would make it two, with frequent breaks.

  6. Beautiful history and photos to go along with them. I love the yellow of that field and the first photo of the graveyard was my favorite. Have a thing for graveyards. I hope you are well Ines.

    1. Thank you so much for stopping by, Joseph. I too have a thing for graveyards. My grandmother used to give me a tour through the local graveyard, with all the stories of life and death included. Fifty years later, I still visit these graves of complete strangers, and I am feeling like – oh, hi, you are still here, I wonder how are you doing, I have never forgotten you 🙂

      1. Yes I imagine the lives they had but was upset once seeing the grave of a 3 day old. That was sad but now with my philosophies I am able to feel the sadness and leave it at the graveyard

        1. You know the meaning of loss, but your philosophies helped you pick up the broken thread and carry on. I would say, nothing is lost in this Universe.

    1. Thank you so much! The mountain itself is bald, there is little to see most of the time. In early summer you can find some inch-high alpine plants here and there, but the views are breathtaking.

  12. Lovely post, Inese. Hubby is a Clonmel man (and I lived there for 8 years) so this is very familiar territory. It’s such an evocative mountain, isn’t it?

    1. Yes, the cross is very impressive, because of the size. Unfortunately the castle was undergoing repairs, and I was not able to take a picture. May be next spring 🙂 Thank you so much for your interest, Christy.

  18. The original names have almost a special power in them… Thank you Inese, I think in Slievenamon as a kind of mountain with ancient ghosts crossing it, ghosts of forests, words, spells and legends.

    1. Thank you so much! There are many legends related to the mountain. The name means ” mountain of woman” in Gaelic. I will write more some day, but first I have to climb it one more time 🙂

Comments are closed.