Stack's Mountains

Last updated

Stack's Mountains
Stack's Mountains from space.jpg
The Stack's Mountains from the International Space Station, with Tralee at bottom left.
Highest point
PeakCrusline
Elevation 355 m (1,165 ft)
Coordinates 52°19′08″N9°35′21″W / 52.318779°N 9.589144°W / 52.318779; -9.589144
Geography
CountryIreland
Provinces of Ireland Munster
A wind farm on Stack's Mountain in the Stack's Mountains. Wind Farm Stack's Mountains - geograph.org.uk - 334106.jpg
A wind farm on Stack's Mountain in the Stack's Mountains.

The Stack's Mountains are a range of hills northeast of Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland. Traditionally they are deemed part of the hilly region known as Sliabh Luachra [1] (anglicised 'Slieve Logher'), which also includes the Mullaghareirk Mountains.

Contents

The highest peak in the range is Crusline, which is 355 metres high. Nearby summits include Ballincollig Hill (353 m), Beennageeha Mountain (321 m), and Stack's Mountain (Irish : Cnoc an Stacaigh; 323 m). [2] [3] [4]

Landscape and nature

The range is characterised by moorland and limited open pasture, with 4,700 hectares of young coniferous forest plantations of mainly Sitka spruce – with Japanese larch, pines, firs and cedars, along with some broadleaved trees such as birch, ash, alder, oak, willow, sycamore, and holly – most managed by the forest management company, Coillte. [3] [5]

The local conifer forests, open heather moors, and grassland are habitats for fauna such as the hen harrier, Irish hare, red fox, red grouse, snipe, cuckoo, and meadow pipit. The neighbouring Glanaruddery Mountains to the southeast are divided from the Stack's Mountains by the valley of the Smearlagh River. [3] [5] [6]

Energy resources

The peat company, Bord na Móna, extracted about 250,000 tons of turf from Lyracrumpane Bog between 1938 and 1963. Nowadays, turf is harvested by local people under turbary arrangements, using hopper machines instead of the traditional slane. There are also wind farms on Stack's Mountain and Ballincollig Hill. [3] [5]

Recreation

The Lyracrumpane Development Association in cooperation with Coillte have created the four-mile "Mass Path and River Walk" along the banks of the Smearlagh River, and the ten mile "Fionn MacCumhaill" trek through open countryside and Coillte forest plantations. [3] [7]

The seven-mile Smearlagh River, which is a tributary of the River Feale, is formed in the Stack's Mountains and Glanaruddery Mountains from the Broghane Stream, Dromaddamore River, Glashoreag River, and Lyracrumpane River. [6] The Smearlagh meets the Feale at Inchymagilleragh, three miles east of Listowel, where the confluence is known as "The Joinings". The Smearlagh is a swift river that provides good salmon and sea trout fishing. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Ireland</span> Geography of the island of Ireland, northwestern Europe

Ireland is an island in Northern Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean. The island lies on the European continental shelf, part of the Eurasian Plate. The island's main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil, which is 1,039 metres (3,409 ft) above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays. The island is bisected by the River Shannon, which at 360.5 km (224 mi) with a 102.1 km (63 mi) estuary is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan in Ulster to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick. There are a number of sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh is the largest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sperrins</span> Mountain range in Northern Ireland

The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains are a mountain range in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane and Mullaghcarn in the west, to Slieve Gallion and the Glenshane Pass in the east, in the counties of Tyrone and Londonderry. The landscape is mostly moorland and blanket bog. The region has a population of some 150,000 and is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mourne Mountains</span> Mountain range in Northern Ireland

The Mourne Mountains, also called the Mournes or Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in Northern Ireland, the highest of which is Slieve Donard at 850 m (2,790 ft). The Mournes are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it has been proposed to make the area Northern Ireland's first national park. The area is partly owned by the National Trust and sees many visitors every year. The Mourne Wall crosses fifteen of the summits and was built to enclose the catchment basin of the Silent Valley and Ben Crom reservoirs.

Sliabh Luachra, sometimes anglicised Slieve Logher, is an upland region in Munster, Ireland. It is on the borders of counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, and bounded to the south by the River Blackwater. It includes the Mullaghareirk Mountains.

Tournafulla, or Toornafulla, is a village in the southwest of County Limerick, Ireland. Tournafulla is a long single-street village. It has a Catholic church, a primary school, three pubs, a community hall and a GAA pitch. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 144 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wicklow Way</span> Walking trail in County Wicklow, Ireland

The Wicklow Way is a 131-kilometre (81-mile) long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the Irish Sports Council and is waymarked by posts with a yellow "walking man" symbol and a directional arrow. Typically completed in 5–7 days, it is one of the busiest of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails, with up to 24,000 people a year walking the most popular sections. The Way is also used regularly by a number of mountain running competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballydesmond</span> Village in County Cork, Ireland

Ballydesmond, formerly Kingwilliamstown, is a rural village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the Blackwater River on the Cork-Kerry border. The Ballydesmond quarry is an area of geological interest, containing the best example of tundra forest polygons found in Ireland. It is located at the junction of the R577 and R578 regional roads.

The Mullaghareirk Mountains is a range of hills in Ireland on the borders of County Cork, County Kerry and County Limerick. The area is also known as Sliabh Luachra. The highest point is Baraveha at 451 metres (1,480 ft). It is bordered by the Blackwater valley to the south, Castleisland to the west, Athea to the north and the Deel valley to the east. Villages in the hills include Rockchapel, Ballydesmond, Brosna, Gneevgullia, Mountcollins, Newmarket, Meelin and Tournafulla. The Allaughaun River, a tributary of the River Feale, rises at the east end of the range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knocknagree</span> Village in County Cork, Ireland

Knocknagree is a village in north-west County Cork in Ireland. Located on the R582 regional road it is 5 km north of Rathmore. It is approximately one mile from the Cork-Kerry border, and looks south towards the Blackwater River. Across the Blackwater River is Gneeveguilla, one of the nearest villages on the other side of border with County Kerry. Knocknagree is within the Dáil constituency of Cork North-West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gneeveguilla</span> Village in County Kerry, Ireland

Gneeveguilla,, officially Gneevgullia, is a small village in the Sliabh Luachra region of East County Kerry, Ireland. It lies about 19 km (12 mi) east of Killarney, close to the County Kerry/County Cork border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Rock Mountain</span> Mountain in County Dublin, Ireland

Three Rock Mountain is a mountain in Co Dublin, Ireland. It is 444 metres high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the three groups of granite rocks at the summit. It was once believed that these features were man-made: for instance, Gabriel Beranger wrote of them in 1780, "I take them to be altars upon which sacrifices were offered […] the regularity which is observed in piling them convinces me they are the work of man, as they could not grow in that position". In fact, the three outcrops are tors: natural geological features produced by the gradual process of weathering. Today, the summit is dominated by the many radio masts and towers that use the site to broadcast their signals across the Dublin area below. The forestry plantations on the slopes consist mainly of Sitka spruce, Japanese larch, Scots pine, Monterey pine and lodgepole pine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballyhoura Mountains</span> Mountain range, southwestern Ireland

The Ballyhoura Mountains are in south-east County Limerick and north-east County Cork in central Munster, Ireland, running east and west for about 6 miles on the borders of both counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croghan Mountain</span> Mountain in Wicklow/Wexford, Ireland

Croghan Mountain or Croghan Kinsella at 606 metres (1,988 ft), is the 211th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 258th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Croghan is situated at the far southeastern end of the Wicklow Mountains on the Wicklow and Wexford border, in Ireland.

Currow is a rural village in County Kerry in south west Ireland, located approximately 12 km from Killarney and 18 km from Tralee. Currow is situated on the Brown Flesk River, a tributary of the River Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slieve Gallion</span> Mountain in Northern Ireland, easternmost of the Sperrins

Slieve Gallion is a mountain in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is the easternmost of the Sperrin Mountains. It reaches a height of 528 metres (1,732 ft) and dominates the western shore of Lough Neagh. Its prominent northeastern summit has a transmitter station with a small road leading to it, and stands at a height of 496 metres (1,627 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin Mountains Way</span> Hiking trail in the Dublin Mountains in Ireland

The Dublin Mountains Way is a waymarked long-distance trail in the Dublin Mountains, Counties South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The route is approximately 42 kilometres long and runs from Shankill in the east to Tallaght in the west. It has been developed by the Dublin Mountains Partnership, an umbrella group of relevant state agencies and recreational users working to improve recreational facilities in the Dublin Mountains.

Cullahill Mountain is listed as a marilyn hill and a Special Area of Conservation in County Laois, Ireland. Cullahill with an elevation of 313 m (1,027 ft) gives its name to the local townland. It is also called Knockmannon Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moylussa</span> Mountain in County Clare, Ireland

Moylussa is a mountain in the Slieve Bernagh range in western Ireland, and the highest point in County Clare at 532 metres (1,745 ft).

The Slieve Felim Mountains are a mountain range in Munster, Ireland. They cover parts of County Limerick and County Tipperary. Historically, the name "Slieve Felim" meant the whole mountainous area between Murroe, Silvermines, Borrisoleigh and Dundrum, including the Silvermine Mountains and Mauherslieve. However, today the name usually only applies to the southwestern part, made up of Slieve Felim, Cullaun, Knockastanna and Gortnageragh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyracrumpane</span>

Lyracrumpane, also sometimes spelled Lyreacrompane, is a townland in the civil parish of Kilfeighny and the historical barony of Clanmaurice in County Kerry, Ireland. It is in the Stack's Mountains area of North Kerry. The townland, which has an area of approximately 3.9 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi), had a population of 66 as of the 2011 census.

References

  1. Paul Tempan (2019). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names" (PDF). MountainViews.ie.
  2. Stack's-mountain Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2013-03-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Forest Management Plan: Stack Mountains Forest: Forest Code: KY03 Coillte. Retrieved: 2013-03-19.
  4. Stack's Mountains Coillte. Retrieved: 2013-03-19.
  5. 1 2 3 Landscape Character Assessment prepared for the Renewable Energy Strategy 2012 & Adopted/Proposed Archaeological Landscapes Kerry County Council Planning Policy Unit, p. A-109. November 2012.
  6. 1 2 Explanations to Accompany Sheet 162 of the Maps of the Geological Survey of Ireland Geological Survey (1859), p. 5. Retrieved: 2013-03-20.
  7. 1 2 Lyreacrompane Sliabh Luachra Rural Development Group, September 2001.
  8. Rivers of Ireland: A Flyfisher's Guide Peter O'Reilly. Merlin Unwin Books (2002), p. 269. ISBN   1-873674-53-8.