The Mountains Of Ireland - A Walker's Guidebook
The Mountains of Ireland
A Guide to Walking the Summits by Paddy Dillon
A comprehensive guidebook to walking Ireland's 200 summits of 2000ft or more and to the 12 peaks exceeding 3000ft. Described clockwise from Wicklow to the Mournes in 70 walking routes. More...
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Seasons
Year-round possibilities.Centres
Dublin, Cork, Killarney, Limerick, Westport, Sligo, Derry and Dundalk.Difficulty
Some routes more challenging than others. Some scrambling, also boggy ground, thick tussocks of Read More... grass and dense covering of heather.Must See
Summiting Carrauntoohil, and all the other mountains. Recovering in the warm and dry after a wet Read More... and windy expedition.Walk 2
Summits: Tonduff 2,107ft (642m) O 159137; Kippure 2,475ft (757m) O 116154
Character: Two bleak and boggy mountains with very different access routes. Tonduff is reached after a boggy thrash, while Kippure is reached by a simple road-walk to a TV mast.
Distance: 8 miles (13 kilometres).
Maps: 1:50,000 Sheet 56. Half Inch Sheet 16.
Start/Finish: Near Liffey Head Bridge.
Getting There: Liffey Head Bridge is on the R115 road between Glencree and Sally Gap, but isn’t very prominent.
THE ROUTE
Tonduff (tóin dubh = black back)
A short bog-road leads south-eastwards from the R115 road near Liffey Head Bridge. It quickly expires in turf cuttings, leaving walkers to navigate through some awkward bog. Aim for the broad grass and heather slopes of Tonduff, turning eastwards, then north-eastwards on featureless ground to follow the moorland crest. The summit area is a mess of peat hags - some bearing small cairns. Scout around and choose the one you consider to be the highest, then retrace your steps to the R115 road.
Kippure (ciop mhór = big grassy place)
Not far northwards from the bog-road on Tonduff is the access road for the TV mast on Kippure. The narrow road starts from the R115 road at a point where bushes flank a locked gate. Vehicles are prohibited, but walkers can follow this simple zig-zag route. Even in deep snow, marker posts flanking the road show the way to the top. The tall TV mast marks journey’s end, though there is a trig point nearby, in the fenced enclosure. The broad summit is covered in loose grit worn from the granite, and much black peat. Kippure has the distinction of being the highest point in Co Dublin. Walk back down the access road to return to the R115 road.
Alternatives:
You can make life hard for yourself by approaching Tonduff and Kippure from any other directions. Tonduff can be linked with War Hill and Walk 1 by crossing a wide, featureless, boggy gap. Kippure can be linked to Seefingan and Walk 3 by crossing a very broad and boggy gap, following a boundary ditch which can only be traced confidently in clear weather.












