Garraun (Galway)

Garraun
Garraun
	The east faces of Garraun (left), and Benchoona (right), from acrossLough Fee
Highest point
Elevation	598 m (1,962 ft)
Prominence	553 m (1,814 ft)
Listing	Marilyn,Arderin
Coordinates	53°35′05″N9°51′45″W/ 53.584858°N 9.862585°W
Naming
Native name	Maolchnoc
English translation	bald peak
Geography
	Garraun Location in Ireland
Location	County Galway,Ireland
Parent range	Twelve BensSAC
OSI/OSNI grid	L7670861036
Topo map	OSiDiscovery37
Geology
Type of rock	Schists, grits, metavolcanics, mylonitic Bedrock

Garraun(Irish:Maolchnoc,meaning 'bald hill')^[2]at 598 metres (1,962 ft), is the 224th–highest peak inIrelandon theArderinscale,^[3]however, while it is just short of the elevation threshold of 600-metres for other classifications (e.g.Vandeleur-Lynam,andHewitt), it does have theprominenceto be aMarilyn.^[4]^[5]Garraun lies on an isolatedmassifnear the mouth ofKillary Harbourat the far north sector of theTwelve Bens/Garraun Complex Special Area of Conservationin theConnemara National ParkinCounty Galway.^[6]The southern slopes are a scenic backdrop toKylemore AbbeyandKylemore Lough.^[7]^[5]

Naming

Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that Garraun is clearly a name of Irish origin, either fromIrish:garrán,meaning "grove", or more likely fromIrish:géarán,meaning "fang"; while the summit is flat, the eastern ridge leading to it is sharp enough to have merited such a name.^[2]

Tim Robinsonnotes thatIrish:Maolchnoc,meaning "bald hill", is the more common name in the area; it more correctly describes the shape of the summit of Garraun; whileIrish:An Géaránlikely refers to the sharp eastern ridge that descends toLough Fee.^[2]

Tempan notes that thetownlandon the south slopes of Garraun South Top, that runs toKylemore Lough,is called "Lemnaheltia" (Irish:Léim na hEilte,meaning "the doe's leap" ), and this name appears onMercator's map of Ireland(1595) asDosleapefor the mountain (or the cliffs below the summit). A legend tells ofFionn Mac Cumhail's dog Bran, who pursued a doe in this area, however, when the doe leapt from the summit, Bran fell from the cliff into the lake.^[2]Many Irish places claim variations of this story, including "Lough Brin" (Irish:Loch Broin,meaning "Bran's lake" ) south of theMacGillycuddy Reeks,inCounty Kerry.^[2]

Geography

Garraun is a flat featureless summit that lies on its own isolated massif close to the entrance toKillary Harbour,Ireland's largestfjord,and is part of theTwelve Bens/Garraun Complex special area of conservationinConnemara;the Garraun massif is considered part of theTwelve Bensmountain range.^[6]

To the west of Garraun, via a high ridge, is the subsidiary peak ofGarraun South Top556 metres (1,824 ft), which overlooksKylemore Lough,and whoseprominenceof 31 metres (102 ft) qualifies it as anArderin.^[5]Further west, is the sharp summit ofGarraun South-West Top549 metres (1,801 ft), whoseprominenceof 21 metres (69 ft) qualifies it as anArderin Beg.^[5]Garraun South-West Top is marked "Altnagaighera" (or "ravine of the sheep" ), on some maps.^[7]^[2]Altnagaighera is noted for itsconglomerate Torsthat are scattered around its summit.^[7]^[8]

Further southwest again, lies the double-top summit ofDoughruagh526 metres (1,726 ft) (Irish:Dúchruach,meaning "black stack" ),^[2]which directly overlooksKylemore Abbey(and thus features in photographs and paintings of the abbey), and whoseprominenceof 211 metres (692 ft) qualifies it as anArderin,and aMarilyn.^[5]Half-way up the south face of Doughraugh, on very steep ground, is a statue of theSacred Heart,erected in 1932 by the Benedictine nuns of Kylemore Abbey, in thanks for their safe delivery from their previous home inYpresinBelgium,which they had to abandon during World War One.^[7]^[2]

East of Garraun is a long sharp spur (which Tempan thinks was probablyIrish:An Géarán), leading toLough Fee.^[6]^[2]To the north of Garraun isBenchoona585 metres (1,919 ft) (Irish:Binn Chuanna,meaning "peak of Cuanna" ), whoseprominenceof 31 metres (102 ft) qualifies it as anArderin.^[5]Benchoona has a subsidiary peak,Benchoona East Top581 metres (1,906 ft), whoseprominenceof 15 metres (49 ft) qualifies it as anArderin Beg.^[5]Robert Macfarlanedescribed Benchoona's summit as "a rough broken tableland of flat rocks, perhaps a quarter of an acre in area, and planed smooth by the old ice".^[7]^[2]

Garraun has two satellite peaks. To the east, across Lough Fee, is the isolated peak ofLetterettrin333 metres (1,093 ft) (Irish:Leitir Eitreann,meaning "hillside of furrows" ),^[2]which is also calledIrish:Binn Mhór(meaning "big peak"; not to be confused withBinn Mhórin theMaumturksrange), and whoseprominenceof 268 metres (879 ft) qualifies it as aMarilyn.^[5]To the west isCurrywongaun273 metres (896 ft) (Irish:Corr Uí Mhongáin,meaning "Uí Mhongáin's round or pointed hill" ).^[2]^[5]

Hill walking

The most straightforward route to climb Gaurran is via its sharp east spur at Lough Fee; the 5-kilometre 2.5-hour round trip uses the car-park at the distinctively roofedCreeragh Church,off theN59 road.^[9]

Another recommended trail is the 9-kilometre 4-hourLettergesh LooporBenchoona Horseshoe,that starts from Lettergesh Beach in the car-park at Carrickglass (L737 630), taking the path to Cloonagh (Irish:Cluain Ard), and climbing a loop around Benchoona, Garraun, and Garraun South-West Top (or Altnagaighera) before returning via Cloonagh.^[8]^[7]^[6]

Various other 8-10 kilometre 4-5 hour routes, take in the summit of Doughruagh, and the shores of Kylemore Lough and Pollacappul Lough, in a loop with Garraun and Altnagaighera.^[10]^[11]

Gallery

Garraun (left and centre) and Benchoona (right) as viewed from theN59 roadin the east
Summit of Benchoona viewed from the east
Garraun South-West Top (also called Altnagaighera)
Doughruagh,Kylemore Abbey,and the Garraun massif behind, viewed fromDiamond Hill

Bibliography

MountainViews Online Database(Simon Stewart) (2013).A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins.Collins Books.ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7.
Paul Phelan (2011).Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks.Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848891029.
Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.
Dillion, Paddy (1993).The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits.Cicerone.ISBN 978-1852841102.

References

^^a ^b ^c ^d"Garraun".MountainViews Online Database.Retrieved12 August2019.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^lPaul Tempan (February 2012)."Irish Hill and Mountain Names"(PDF).MountainViews.ie.
^Simon Stewart (October 2018)."Arderins: Irish mountains of 500+m with a prominence of 30m".MountainViews Online Database.
^Simon Stewart (October 2018)."Vandeleur-Lynams: Irish mountains of 600+m with a prominence of 15m".MountainViews Online Database.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱMountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork,ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7
^^a ^b ^c ^dDillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.Walk 7: Lettergesh and Maolchnoc
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^fPaul Phelan (2011).Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks.Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848891029."Route 8: Benchoona Horseshoe
^^a ^bMichael Guilfoyle (24 July 2019)."Bracing walk through Connemara with a cooling swim at the end".Retrieved12 August2019.
^Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.Walk 6: Creeragh Church and Maolchnoc
^Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.Walk 5: Kylemore Abbey and Dúchruach
^Paul Phelan (2011).Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks.Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848891029.Route 9: Doughruagh and Lemnaheltia

External links

MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website,Garraun
MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database
The Database of British and Irish Hills,the largest database of British Isles mountains ( "DoBIH")
Hill Bagging UK & Ireland,the searchable interface for theDoBIH

[mviews-1] "Garraun".MountainViews Online Database.Retrieved12 August2019.

[peak-2] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^lPaul Tempan (February 2012)."Irish Hill and Mountain Names"(PDF).MountainViews.ie.

[mva-3] Simon Stewart (October 2018)."Arderins: Irish mountains of 500+m with a prominence of 30m".MountainViews Online Database.

[mvvl-4] Simon Stewart (October 2018)."Vandeleur-Lynams: Irish mountains of 600+m with a prominence of 15m".MountainViews Online Database.

[collins-5] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱMountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork,ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7

[Dillon7-6] Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.Walk 7: Lettergesh and Maolchnoc

[phelan8-7] Paul Phelan (2011).Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks.Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848891029."Route 8: Benchoona Horseshoe

[it2-8] Michael Guilfoyle (24 July 2019)."Bracing walk through Connemara with a cooling swim at the end".Retrieved12 August2019.

[Dillon6-9] Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.Walk 6: Creeragh Church and Maolchnoc

[Dillon5-10] Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide.Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.Walk 5: Kylemore Abbey and Dúchruach

[phelan9-11] Paul Phelan (2011).Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks.Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848891029.Route 9: Doughruagh and Lemnaheltia

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v t e Mountains and hills of Great Britain and Ireland
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