Walking Ireland’s Mountains

The South-East

There was one particularly fine view over the inset Loch Muskry (a classic armchair corrie complete with water cushion) along to the cone of Galtymore. O'Loughman's Castle was very clear: a squat, square, crenellated tower until it is approached off Greenane when it disintegrates, as if by magic, into a crumbly conglomerate outcrop. It must be a place of legends.
Hamish Brown, Hamish’s Groats End Walk, 1981

The small mountain ranges of the South-East are with one exception composed of either old red sandstone or Silurian rock. They are somewhat subdued in form but nonetheless surprisingly high, and boast one of Ireland's few Munros (peaks over 914 metres/3,000 feet high). Unusually for-Ireland, all the ranges are outside the ambience of the sea: they mostly rise from rich, well-populated, cultivated land and wide, coniferous plantations. One other general point: the Galtees, Knockmealdowns and the Comeraghs are quite close to each other, none too demanding and have plenty of varied accommodation around them. The South-East extract from Walking Ireland's Mountains continues:

Route 9: Slieve Blooms
Map 54 (1:50,000), preliminary edition; this edition shows the Slieve Bloom Way in places traversing trackless country where it is in fact on forest tracks.

Start at Glenbarrow car park off R422 (S 368082). Take Slieve Bloom Way down to nearby river and continue on track (not shown on map) and road to the Cut (a high point on minor road crossing range). Turn left here to climb Barna, Baunreaghcong, Carnahinch. Walk north-east to rejoin Way at large cairn, then follow rough path whose route is indicated by tall poles across some wet terrain. Forest tracks, still on way, to end.
Distance: 20 kilometres. Climb: 400 metres. Time: 4.75 hours

Easier Routes in the South-East

Route 10
Map 22 (half-inch).
The narrow glens at the west end of the south side of the Galtees, reached by the road described in route 2 or by parallel roads further east (for example, the road leading off N8, 3.2 miles east of Kilbeheny).

Route 11
No map needed.
Coumshingaun corrie lake, reached as in the start of route 7.

Route 12
No map needed.
The carries on the west side of the Comeraghs, reached from the starting point of route 6.

Route 13
Map 19 (half-inch).
The south end of the Blackstairs using the start of route 8 and walking south on the main ridge, returning by same route.

Route 14
Map 54 (1:50,000).
Glenbarrow in the Slieve Blooms (start of route 9), but leaving the Slieve Bloom Way to continue north-east on tracks; reach a minor road at N 356097 (where road running north-west is not shown on map).

Route 15
Map 19 (half-inch).
Brandon Hill (5 6940) from the north-west, starting from end of laneway off the Inistioge-Graignamanagh road and 1.6 miles along this road from the Graignamanagh direction. Highest point: 520 metres.

for the previous 4 instalments, click here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Information extracted from Walking Ireland’s Mountains: a guide to the ranges and the best walking routes by David Herman, published by Appletree Press.