Kippure

According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, "Kippure" is simply a "transliteration of a pronunciation collected locally, but without any clear meaning". Tempan notes that it resembles the Irish language term "ciop" (meaning stump) and "iúr" (meaning yew), however "stump of the yew" would be "Ciop Iúir". While it is unlikely that yew trees could have ever grown on an exposed mountain such as Kippure, Tempan notes that there is a connection with a similar name in the lower valley, where the association with yew trees could have come.

Kippure's large massif sits at the head of two major valleys: the valley of Glencree (part of County Wicklow) to the east, which it forms with Tonduff {{convert|642|m|ft}}, Maulin {{convert|570|m|ft}}, and Prince William's Seat {{convert|555|m|ft}}; and the valley of Glenasmole (part of Dublin) to the north, which is forms with Seefingan {{convert|724|m|ft}}, and Corrig Mountain {{convert|617|m|ft}}.

To the south of Kippure is the high mountain pass of the Sally Gap at {{convert|503|m|ft}}, and the long winding "central spine" of the Wicklow Mountains as the range runs to Mullaghcleevaun {{convert|849|m|ft}}, and then on to Tonelagee {{convert|817|m|ft}}, and finally to the terminus at Lugnaquilla {{convert|925|m|ft}} in the south, County Wicklow and Leinster's highest mountain.{{cite book | last1 = Dillion | first1 = Paddy | title = The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits | publisher = Cicerone | isbn = 978-1852841102 | year = 1993 |quote=Walk 2: Tonduff and Kippure}}{{cite book | last1 = Fairbairn | first1 = Helen | title = Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide | publisher = Collins Press | isbn = 978-1848892019 | year = 2014 | quote=Route 10: Kippure and the two Lough Brays}}

Kippure has two corrie lakes on its north-east flank, Lough Bray Upper and Lough Bray Lower. The slopes of Kippure hold the sources of several rivers, including tributaries that feed the River Liffey from the Liffey Head Bog on the western slopes of Tonduff, and tributaries that feed the River Dodder.

Kippure's prominence of {{convert|262|m|ft}} qualifies it as a Marilyn, and it also ranks it as the 32nd-highest mountain in Ireland on the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the minimum prominence threshold is {{convert|100|m|ft}}.{{cite web|url=https://mountainviews.ie/lists/highest/|title=Irish Highest 100: The highest 100 Irish mountains with a prominence of +100m|publisher=MountainViews Online Database|date=September 2018}}

On very clear days, Kippure can be seen from Wales.{{cite web|url=https://telescoper.wordpress.com/2021/01/16/wales-from-ireland/|title=Wales from Ireland|access-date=2023-02-03|website=telescoper.wordpress.com}}

File:Top of Kippure.jpg

At the summit of Kippure stands a 127m (417') television and radio transmitter mast. This is the oldest television transmission site in Ireland and was initially selected as a potential VHF FM radio transmitter site during the course of a Radio Éireann survey in the mid-1950s. The Irish Board of Works built an access road to the site in 1959, and the transmitter installation work was then started by the British company Pye Ltd. By the summer of 1961 the mast was erected{{cite web|last=RTÉ NL|title=Video: Building the transmitter Network|url=http://www.rtenl.ie/new-media/videos/|publisher=RTÉ NL|access-date=2012-11-06}} and test transmissions followed, consisting of slide views of Ireland, a test-card, and the music of Count John McCormack.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

Telefís Éireann began with transmission from Kippure on 31 December 1961 using the British 405-line TV standard on VHF Band III channel 7, to be followed by a 625-line service on channel H in the summer of 1962. Kippure was the first of the original five main Telefís Éireann transmitters to come into service, the others being, Truskmore (1962), Mount Leinster (1963), Maghera (1963), and Mullaghanish (1963).{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

File:RTE Kippure Transmitting Station Entrance Gate - geograph.org.uk - 465473.jpg

VHF FM transmission of RTÉ Radio (the former Radio Éireann) commenced in 1966, with stereo broadcasting beginning in 1969.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

405-line transmission from Kippure ceased in 1978 with the arrival of RTÉ 2, however, Kippure did not transmit RTÉ 2 until much later. Initially on Channel J at low power later moving to Channel H with RTÉ 1 moving to Channel E.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

Kippure's importance in radio and television transmission has diminished since the late 1970s with the opening of three new UHF transmitter sites at Three Rock in County Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Clermont Carn in County Louth, and Cairn Hill in County Longford, which provide better reception in most areas previously served only by Kippure. Today the Irish DTT service, Saorview, the national FM radio stations, and some commercial radio stations are broadcast from the site.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

• {{cite book | last1 = Fairbairn | first1 = Helen | title = Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide | publisher = Collins Press | isbn = 978-1848892019 | year = 2014}}
• {{cite book | last1 = Fairbairn | first1 = Helen | title = Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide | publisher = Collins Press | isbn = 978-1848892118 | year = 2014}}
• {{cite book| author=MountainViews Online Database (Simon Stewart)|year=2013 | title=A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins |publisher=Collins Books | isbn=978-1-84889-164-7}}
• {{cite book | last1 = Dillion | first1 = Paddy | title = The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits | publisher = Cicerone | isbn = 978-1852841102 | year = 1993 }}

File:Upper and Lower Lough Bray.jpg|Lough Bray Lower and Upper

File:IMG Kippure0232w.jpg|From the Sally Gap

File:The Young Liffey - geograph.org.uk - 464192.jpg|River Liffey tributary

File:View east rom Kippure.jpg|View east from the summit

File:War Hill - geograph.org.uk - 523813.jpg|Killpure and War Hill from Djouce

{{commons category|Kippure}}

• Wicklow Way
• Wicklow Round
• Wicklow Mountains
• Lists of mountains in Ireland
• List of mountains of the British Isles by height
• List of tallest structures in Ireland
• List of Marilyns in the British Isles
• List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland

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{{Reflist}}

• [https://mountainviews.ie/summit/73/ MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website], Kippure
• [https://mountainviews.ie/mv/irl150setup.htm MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database]
• [http://www.hills-database.co.uk/downloads.html The Database of British and Irish Hills ], the largest database of British Isles mountains ("DoBIH")
• [http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/ Hill Bagging UK & Ireland], the searchable interface for the DoBIH

{{Main broadcast transmitters in Ireland|state=collapsed}}

{{Mountains of Great Britain and Ireland}}

{{Mountains and hills of Leinster}}

{{IrishTrails}}

Category:Marilyns of Ireland

Category:Mountains and hills of County Wicklow

Category:Hewitts of Ireland

Category:Mountains under 1000 metres

Category:Mountains and hills of South Dublin (county)

Category:Highest points of Irish counties

Category:Transmitter sites in Ireland