MacGillycuddy's Reeks#MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk

MacGillycuddy's Reeks are composed of sandstone particles of various sizes, which are collectively known as the Old Red Sandstone. The rocks date from the Upper Devonian period (310–450 million years ago) when Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting.{{cite book | last1 = Ryan | first1 = Jim | title = Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains | publisher = Collins Press | isbn = 978-1905172337 | year = 2006 | chapter = Chapter One: MacGillycuddy's Reeks - A Profile}} During this 60 million year period, Ireland was the site of a major basin, known as the Munster basin, and the counties of Cork and Kerry were effectively a large alluvial floodplain. Chemical oxidation stained the material with a purple–reddish colour (and green in places from chlorination), still visible today. There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone. The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable and contains quartz stones, mudstones, siltstones, and sandstone particles (boulders of conglomerate rock containing quartz pebbles are visible throughout the range). The Reeks were also subject to significant glaciation which led to fracturing of the rock, and resulted in deep corries (e.g. the Eagle's Nest), U-shaped valleys (e.g. Lough Coomloughra), and sharp arêtes and ridges (e.g. the Beenkeragh Ridge).{{cite web|url=http://www.keepirelandopen.org/Reeks_Report.pdf|title=MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Development Assessment|publisher=South Kerry Development Partnership|date=December 2013|access-date=24 October 2018|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020011519/http://www.keepirelandopen.org/Reeks_Report.pdf|url-status=dead}}

File:Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Lough Callee and Cnoc na Péiste (Knocknapeasta) - geograph.org.uk - 1434579.jpg of the eastern section of the Reeks showing (l-to-r) Cruach Mhor, The Big Gun, Cnoc na Peiste and Maolán Buí; including Maolán Buí's large narrow north-west spur, The Bone.]]

MacGillycuddy's Reeks are variously described as consisting of two main sections, containing all ten of the Reeks that are above 3,000 ft:

{{anchor|Eastern Reeks}}{{anchor|Coomloughra Reeks}}

{{ordered list|type=lower-roman

| Eastern Reeks, a high ridge connecting (west to east), Cnoc an Chuillinn, Maolán Buí, Cnoc na Péiste, The Big Gun, and Cruach Mhór; and

| Coomloughra Reeks, a horseshoe around Lough Coomloughra that connects, Caher (West Top), Caher, Carrauntoohil, The Bones, and Beenkeragh.

}}

The Eastern Reeks meet the Coomloughea Reeks at the col of the Devil's Ladder, a popular ascent route for Carrauntoohil.

MacGillycuddy's Reeks contains the three peaks in Ireland which are over {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=off}} in height, namely: Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain at {{convert|1,038.6|m|abbr=on}}, followed by Beenkeragh at {{convert|1,008|m|ft|abbr=on}} and Caher at {{convert|1,000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.{{cite book| author=MountainViews (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 | pages=85–95, 120–145}}

The range contains eleven of the fourteen peaks in Ireland that are over {{convert|3000|ft|abbr=on}} in height, and meet the Vandeleur-Lynam classification of a mountain—peaks with a prominence over {{convert|15|m|abbr=on}}.{{cite web|url=https://mountainviews.ie/lists/vandeleur-lynam/?PHPSESSID=6lpes93lcdlq890dprmqqu4dn6|title=Vandeleur-Lynams: Irish mountains of 600+m with a prominence of 15m|publisher=MountainViews Online Database|date=October 2018}} All but one of these eleven 3,000 ft peaks, namely Cnoc an Chuillinn East Top, are amongst the list of thirteen Irish Furths—peaks which meet the Scottish Mountaineering Club's criteria for a Munro, and they are therefore also known as Irish Munros.{{cite web|url=https://www.smc.org.uk/hills/hill-lists#furths|title=Hill Lists: Furths|quote=The list of peaks of 3000ft or more within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland outside (furth) of Scotland. There are currently 34 Furths.|publisher=Scottish Mountaineering Club|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-date=5 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005153432/https://www.smc.org.uk/hills/hill-lists#furths|url-status=dead}}

There are 29 peaks in the range above {{convert|100|m|abbr=on}} in height. The range contains 14 Irish Hewitts (height above 2,000 ft and prominence above 30 metres),{{cite web|url=http://www.hills-database.co.uk/downloads.html|title=The Database of British and Irish Hills|date=2018|author1=Chris Cocker|author2=Graham Jackson|publisher=Database of British and Irish Hills}} and 16 Irish Arderins (height above 500 metres and prominence above 30 metres).{{cite web|url=https://mountainviews.ie/lists/arderin/|title=Arderins: Irish mountains of 500+m with a prominence of 30m|publisher=MountainViews Online Database|date=October 2018}} The range is also known for its sharp aretes, including The Bones arete, more famously known as the Beenkeragh Ridge, and The Big Gun arete.

A feature of the range is the modest topographic prominence, or "drop" between many of its peaks.{{cite book | last1 = Dillion | first1 = Paddy | title = The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits | publisher = Cicerone | isbn = 978-1852841102 | year = 1993 | chapter=Chapter 41, Chapter 42}} Only two of the eleven Reeks over 3,000 ft meet the Marilyn classification of a mountain (a prominence above 150 metres), namely Carrauntoohil and Cnoc na Péiste. The only Reek that meets the P600 classification (a prominence above 600 metres), is Carrauntoohil itself. The combination of high peaks and low prominence, means the ridges between the peaks are at a sustained height (e.g. why the prominence is so modest), which has contributed to the popularity of ridge walking in the Reeks, particularly, the Coomloughra Horseshoe, and the MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk, and the term, "Ireland's highest mountain range".

File:MacGillycuddy's Reeks as viewed from Churchtown Cemetery, Co Kerry, Ireland.jpg, in 1990]]

The entire range is held in private ownership, both in individually owned freehold parcels in the lower reaches and in commonly owned, open upland zones ('commonage'). A State-sponsored report into access for the range in December 2013 titled MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Development Assessment (also called the Mountain Access Project, or MAP), mapped the complex network of land titles. Unlike many other national mountain ranges, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks are not part of a national park or a trust structure.

The private ownership has led to issues around the upkeep of popular paths in the Reeks, most particularly the erosion of the Devil's Ladder path, which is used to summit Carrauntoohil; and various car-parks and bridges used by climbers. The 2013 MAP report noted the importance of safety in light of the increasing climbers and walkers to the Reeks. The MAP report stated that Kerry Mountain Rescue ("KMR") logged 17 fatalities on the Reeks between 1966 and 2000, or about one every second year, but since 2000, KMR had been logging approximately 2 fatalities per annum.

In 2019 the Irish Times reported that the MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Forum, a cross-body group of landowners, commercial users and public access and walking groups set up in 2014 with the aim of "protecting, managing and sustainably developing the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range, while halting and reversing the obvious and worsening path erosion", had achieved some success laying down new pathways in the Hag's Glen approach to Carrauntoohil; however, the Irish Times still wondered, "Should the Kerry reeks be a national park?".

File:The Eagle's Nest (Carrauntoohil, Kerry).jpg corrie from the Hag's Glen. The Nest is surrounded by Carrauntoohil (left), The Bones (back, centre), and Beenkeragh (right); Knockbrinea is at the far right. The Hag's Tooth is visible at the entrance to the corrie, as is the Hag's Tooth Ridge up to the summit of Beenkeragh.]]

The full name of the range in Irish is Cruacha Dubha Mhic Giolla Mo Chuda, meaning "the black stacks of McGillycuddy". This is commonly shortened to Na Cruacha Dubha.{{cite web|url=https://mountainviews.ie/features/names/intnames2/TempanMtnNamesInter2.htm|title=Irish mountain names and their international links|author=Paul Tempan|publisher=MountainViews Online Database|date=2006|quote=Cruach - ‘stack, rick, pile’: Given the original meaning of this word, it is not surprising that most of the mountains with names in cruach show a symmetrical triangular profile, rather like a haystack. This is very evident in the case of na Cruacha Dubha (MacGillycuddy's Reeks) or, to give them their full and rather poetic title, Cruacha Dubha Mhic Giolla Mochuda.}}{{cite web|url= https://mountainviews.ie/features/names/RyanReeksReview/JimRyanReeksGuide.htm|title=REVIEW: Jim Ryan - Carrauntoohil & MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains|author=Paul Tempan|publisher=MountainViews Online Database|date=2006|quote=However, he makes no mention here, or elsewhere in the book, of the MacGillycuddys (a branch of O'Sullivan More), the family most intimately connected with the Reeks, as well as the area to the north, and which gave its name to the range (Cruacha Dubha Mhic Giolla Mo Chuda, usually shortened to just Na Cruacha Dubha, 'the black stacks'). The MacGillycuddy was one of the few Gaelic chieftains to have his lands restored after the Cromwellian confiscations, a circumstance which helps to explain why the name has survived to this day. The MacGillycuddy family tomb is at Kilgobnet, between the mountains and Killorglin.}} The name is translated into English as "MacGillycuddy's Reeks", where reek is a Hiberno-English form of the word rick, denoting a stack.{{cite web|url= http://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Paul%20Tempan%20Irish%20Mountain%20Placenames%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf|title=Irish Hill and Mountain Names|publisher=MountainViews.ie|author=Paul Tempan|date=February 2012|pages=59, 69}}

The MacGillycuddys ({{lga|Mhic Giolla Mo Chuda}}) were a sept, or branch, of the O'Sullivan Moore clan. The MacGillycuddy is recorded as being one of a smaller number of Gaelic chieftains whose lands were returned post the Cromwellian confiscations, which explains why the name survives to this day. The MacGillycuddy family tomb is at Kilgobnet, County Kerry, between the mountains and Killorglin. The clan chief, McGillycuddy of the Reeks, owned land in this part of Munster until the end of the 20th century.

File:The Reeks, Killarney, Ireland, by Fanny Steers, 1857 (18ac54c3-0434-4ac9-b7ba-ed29a7111c1a).jpg and bought by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It remains on display in the Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts.]]File:The Macgillicuddy Reeks, Killarney. County Kerry, Ireland-LCCN2002717420.tif

Jim Ryan's 2006 book on the Reeks, Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains, stated that there were 25,000 annual visitors to the Reeks. The 2013 MAP report quoted Ryan's figures, which were cited in the MAP's Terms of Reference, but stated that: "The Reeks are accessed by at least 25,000 recreational users per annum. It is highly likely that the numbers are a factor of 4 times higher based on observation of the year-round level of usage – but data is required to ascertain the visitor numbers." It was estimated that 125,000 visitors entered the range in 2017 from footfall at three main access points,{{cite news | url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/specialreports/managing-visitor-impact-on-the-macgillycuddys-reeks-is-still-quite-a-hill-to-climb-884701.html | title=Managing visitor impact on The MacGillycuddy's Reeks is still quite a hill to climb | date=12 November 2018 | access-date=25 March 2020 | newspaper=Irish Examiner | quote=The attraction of being Ireland's highest mountain range draws a horde of visitors year-round, with 125,000 recreation seekers entering on to the Reeks from the three main access points during 2017.}} and that 140,000 entered in 2018 by recording footfall at four main access points.{{cite news | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/ireland/should-the-kerry-reeks-be-a-national-park-1.3929581 | title=Should the Kerry reeks be a national park? | author=John G O'Dwyer | date=22 June 2020 |access-date=25 March 2020 | newspaper=Irish Times | quote=In 2018, 140,000 recreation seekers entered on to the area from the four main access points.}} The Reeks are a popular subject for artists and photographers, with souvenir prints offered for sale among "Views of Ireland."{{cite web |title=The Macgillicuddy Reeks, Killarney County Kerry, Ireland |url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=2002717420&searchType=1&permalink=y |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=16 January 2024 |quote=Title from the Detroit Publishing Co., catalogue J--foreign section. Detroit, Mich. : Detroit Photographic Company, 1905.. Print no. "12000". Forms part of: Views of Ireland in the Photochrom print collection.}}{{cite web |title=Photochrom Prints |date=13 May 1890 |url=https://loc.gov/pictures/collection/pgz/ |publisher=Library of Congress |quote=Like postcards, the photochroms feature subjects that appeal to travelers, including landscapes, architecture, street scenes, and daily life and culture. The prints were sold as souvenirs and often collected in albums or framed for display.}}

File:Coomloughra Lough (MacGillycuddy's Reeks).jpg around the Lough Coomloughra, with Caher East Top and Caher West Top on the right, Carrauntoohil back left, and the Beenkeragh Ridge on the far left.]]

The most common reason for visiting the Reeks is to climb Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil. The popular route starts from Cronin's Yard ({{gbm4ibx|V837873}}) and enters the Hag's Glen to climb the Devil's Ladder (the col between Carrauntoohil and Cnoc na Toinne), from which the summit is accessed. A more challenging route is via the Hag's Tooth Ridge which circles the Eagle's Nest, and takes in Beenkeragh, and the Beenkeragh Ridge.

MacGillycuddy's Reeks is particularly regarded for the quality of its ridge walking routes, with the 6–8 hour {{convert|15|km|mi}} Coomloughra Horseshoe, that circles Lough Coomloughra, considered "one of Ireland's classic ridge walks", which takes in all three of Ireland's {{convert|1000|m|ft}} peaks, namely, Carrauntoohil, Beenkeragh, and Caher (East Top and West Top), as well as the famous Beenkeragh Ridge.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/our-finest-mountain-route-1.788946|title=Our Nation's Finest Mountain Route|publisher=Irish Times|author=John O'Dwyer|date=20 June 2009|quote=There are a few candidates for this honour; Dingle's Brandon Ridge, Connemara's Glencoaghan Horseshoe and Mayo's Mweelrea Circuit immediately spring to mind. But nearly all hillwalkers now agree that one route stands out above even such splendour. Kerry's Coomloughra Horseshoe is virtually impossible to match in an Irish context, as it takes in our three highest summits and offers an adrenalin-filled crossing of a memorable mountain ridge, great long-range coastal views and a birds-eye panorama over some of Killarney's renowned lakes and fells.}}{{cite web|url=http://kerrymountainrescue.ie/carrauntoohil-route-descriptions/|title=Route Descriptions|publisher=Kerry Mountain Rescue Teams|date=2018}}

{{anchor|MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk}}

The most challenging route is the full MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk, a 12- to 14-hour, {{convert|26|km|mi|adj=on}} traverse of the entire range. The route normally starts at the eastern end from Kate Kearney's Cottage in the Gap of Dunloe.{{cite web|url=https://www.hiddenirelandtours.com/day-excursions/day-walks-and-hikes/corran-tuathail-and-the-mcgillycuddy-reeks/|title=The Ridge of the Reeks|publisher=Hidden Ireland Tours|author=Con Moriarty|date=2018|quote=Simply, the finest mountain traverse in Ireland with 7 summits over 3000 ft. From Kate Kearney's Cottage, in the Gap of Dunloe, to Doire na Féinne and Loch a’ Chúis}} The route takes in Stickeen Mountain ({{convert|440|m|ft}}) and Cnoc an Bhráca ({{convert|731|m|ft}}) before reaching the ridge proper at Cruach Mhór ({{convert|932|m|ft}}). From there it continues along the narrow arete of The Big Gun ({{convert|939|m|ft}}) to Cnoc na Péiste ({{convert|988|m|ft}}), and continuing along the chain of Maolán Buí ({{convert|923|m|ft}}), Cnoc an Chuillinn ({{convert|958|m|ft}}), Cnoc na Toinne ({{convert|845|m|ft}}) to the summit of Carrauntoohil ({{convert|1038|m|ft}}).

From Carrauntoohil, a number of variations are possible, the main one being a detour to Beenkeragh ({{convert|1008|m|ft}}) before returning along the same route to get to Caher ({{convert|1000|m|ft}}) and then on to Caher West Top ({{convert|975|m|ft}}) before descending to the Hydro-Track ({{gbm4ibx|V772871}}) car park near Lough Acoose, Glencar.

An alternative variation is to continue from Beenkeragh on the northern side of the Coomloughra Horseshoe to the peaks or Skregmore ({{convert|848|m|ft}}) and Cnoc Íochtair ({{convert|747|m|ft}}) before descending to the Hydro-Track car park.{{cite web|url=https://www.activeme.ie/guides/macgillycuddys-reeks-carrauntoohil-entire-mountain-range-walk-kerry-ireland/|title=MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Carrauntoohil, Entire Mountain Range Walk|publisher=activeme.ie|date=2017}}

File:Eagle's Nest (Lough Cummeenoughter) in Carrauntoohil in winter.jpg

MacGillycuddy's Reeks are not especially known for their rock-climbing routes, unlike Ailladie in Clare or Fair Head in Antrim. The {{convert|450|m|ft}} rock climbing grade Very Difficult (V-Diff), Howling Ridge up the central arete between the east and north-east faces of Carrauntoohil is notable.{{cite book | title=Rock Climbing In Ireland | date=November 2014 | author=David Flanagan | isbn=978-0956787422 | chapter= Section 10: Carrauntoohil (Howling Ridge)| publisher=Three Rock Books }}{{cite web|url=https://www.kerryclimbing.ie/howling-ridge/|title=Howling Ridge|publisher=KerryClimbing|date=2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-tv/watch-the-incredible-howling-ridge-climb-on-irelands-highest-peak-36735648.html|title=Watch the incredible Howling Ridge climb on Ireland's highest peak|publisher=Irish Independent|date=23 March 2018}} The north-east face of Carrauntoohil (e.g. the Eagle's Nest area), is better known for its winter climbing, conditions permitting, offering 80 routes with 7 up to winter Grade V.{{cite web|url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=2023#guidebooks|title=Carrauntoohil Winter Climbs|publisher=UKClimbing.com|date=12 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.kerryclimbing.ie/rock-climbing-guides-ireland/|title=Rock and Winder Guide: Carrauntoohil|publisher=KerryClimbing.ie|date=2017}}

{{Main|Lists of mountains in Ireland}}

The following is a download from the MountainViews Online Database, which lists 29 identifiable Reeks with an elevation, or height, above {{convert|100|m|ft}}.{{cite web | url=https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1/ | title=MacGillycuddy's Reeks | website=MountainViews Online Database | access-date=10 April 2020}}

{{legend|#cfc|Furth (or Irish Munro): Height over {{convert|3000|ft|0}}, and on the SMC Furth list.}}

{{legend|#cff|Marilyn: Any height, and prominence over {{convert|150|m|0}}.}}

{{commons category|MacGillycuddy's Reeks}}

• Lists of mountains in Ireland
• List of Irish counties by highest point
• List of mountains of the British Isles by height
• List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
• List of Furth mountains in the British Isles
• List of highest points of European countries
• List of countries by highest point

{{reflist }}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Dillion

| first1 = Paddy

| title = The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits

| publisher = Cicerone

| isbn = 978-1852841102

| year = 1993

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Fairbairn

| first1 = Helen

| title = Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide

| publisher = Collins Press

| isbn = 978-1848892118

| year = 2014

}}

• {{cite book| first1=Piaras |last1=Kelly |year=2016| title=MacGillycuddy's Reeks – Winter Climbs |publisher = Piaras Kelly | isbn=978-1-5262-0666-4}}
• {{cite book

| last1 = O'Sullivan

| first1 = Valerie

| title = The MacGillycuddy's Reeks: People and Places of Ireland's Highest Mountain Range

| publisher = Collins Press

| isbn = 978-1848892941

| year = 2017

}}

• {{cite book | last1 = Ryan | first1 = Jim | title = Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains | publisher = Collins Press | isbn = 978-1905172337 | year = 2006 }}
• {{cite book| last1=Stewart | first1=Simon |year=2013 | title=A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins |publisher=Collins Books | isbn=978-1-84889-164-7}}

• [https://mountainviews.ie/summit/858/ MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website]
• [http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/ Hill Bagging UK & Ireland], the searchable interface for the DoBIH
• [http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Winter_Climbing_around_Carrauntoohil Winter Climbing around Carrauntoohil], The Irish Climbing Wiki
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120829114800/http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,591271,743300,0 Ordnance Survey Ireland ("OSI") Online Map Viewer]
• [https://www.macgillycuddyreekskerry.com/ MacGillycuddy's Reeks Mountain Access Forum], group tasked with developing the range
• [https://www.activeme.ie/guides/carrauntoohil-via-osheas-gully-and-zig-zags-kerry/ Hag's Glen, MacGillycuddy's Reeks], aerial photograph of the central Reeks.

{{Mountains of Great Britain and Ireland|}}

{{Irish provinces highest mountains|}}

{{Mountains and hills of Munster}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Mountains and hills of County Kerry

Category:Iveragh Peninsula