Slieve Donard: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added
History and folklore: when; and cite cleanup
No edit summary
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
 
(10 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{shortShort description|Highest mountain in Northern Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=NovemberJanuary 20132024}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Slieve Donard
Line 28:
}}
 
'''Slieve Donard''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|s|l|iː|v|_|ˈ|d|ɒ|n|ər|d}} {{respell|SLEEV|_|DON|ərd}}; {{Irish derived place name|Sliabh Dónairt|Dónairt's mountain}})<ref>[http://www.logainm.ie/130175.aspx Placenames Database of Ireland]</ref> is the highest [[mountain]] in [[Northern Ireland]] and, the widerhighest in [[Provinces of Ireland|provinceUlster]] ofand the seventh-highest in [[UlsterIreland]],<ref name="mountainviews"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.highpointireland.com/province-high-points|title=Ireland's Province High Points|publisher=High Point Ireland|date=2015}}</ref> with a height of {{convert|850|m}}.<ref name="mountainviews"/><ref name="OSI"/><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.irishscientist.ie/2004/contents.asp?contentxml=04isp45b.xml&contentxsl=is04pages.xsl |title = Measuring the height of Slieve Donard |access-date = 21 June 2008 |author = Ken Stewart |year = 2004 |work = 2004 Year Book |quote = This final calculation gives a measured height for Slieve Donard of 849.14m above MSL Belfast, and is estimated to be correct to better than 5cm. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119233723/http://www.irishscientist.ie/2004/contents.asp?contentxml=04isp45b.xml&contentxsl=is04pages.xsl |archive-date=19 November 2007}}</ref> The highest of the [[Mourne Mountains]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.highpointireland.com/range-high-points|title=Ireland's Range High Points|publisher=High Point Ireland|date=2015}}</ref> it is near the town of [[Newcastle, County Down|Newcastle]] on the eastern coast of [[County Down]], overlooking the [[Irish Sea]]. It is also the highest mountain in the northern half of [[Ireland]],.<ref>McSherry, Brendan. [https://www.academia.edu/15264625/The_Geoarchaeology_of_Irelands_East_Border_Region "The Geoarchaeology of Ireland's East Border Region - Geology and Borders in War and Peace"]. ''International Conference on Landscape Conservation, 2011''. p.76</ref> and seventh-highest on the island.<ref name="mountainviews"/>
 
The [[Mourne Wall]] – built in the early 20th century – runs up the western and southern slopes of the mountain, joining a small stone tower at the summit. Also on the summit are the remains of two ancient burial [[cairn]]s, one of which is the remains of the highest known [[passage grave|passage tomb]] in Ireland. In [[Irish mythology]] the mountain was associated with the mythical figures Boirche and Slángha. It was later associated with, and named after, Saint Donard, who was said to have made the summit his [[hermitage (religious retreat)|hermitage]]. Up until the 1830s, people would climb the mountain as part of a yearly pilgrimage, which may have originally been a [[Lughnasadh]] (harvest) ritual. [[Royal Engineers]] camped on the summit for four months in 1826 as part of the [[Ordnance Survey]]'s [[Principal Triangulation of Great Britain|Principal Triangulation]]. It is located in the southeastern part of [[Northern Ireland]].
 
==Geography==
Line 38:
 
==Burial cairns==
On the summit are the remains of two prehistoric burial [[cairn]]s. The Great Cairn is at the highest point and measures about {{convert|1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} high, {{convert|36.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} from north to south and {{convert|43|m|ft|abbr=on}} from east to west. It appears to have been a [[Neolithic]] [[passage grave|passage tomb]], dating to 3300–3000 BC. It is the highest known passage tomb in Britain and Ireland.<ref name=moore3>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 3.</ref> The Lesser Cairn lies 210 metres to the northeast, overlooking Newcastle. It measures about {{convert|4.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} high, {{convert|18|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} from north to south, and {{convert|16|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} from east to west. It appears to have been an Early [[Bronze Age]] multiple-[[cist]] cairn, dating to 2300–1950 BC.<ref name=moore3/> In the past, the cairns had a much more well-defined shape and it is thought the Great Cairn had an east-facing entrance leading to an inner chamber.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], pp.30-31</ref> They appear to parallel the two cairns on [[Slieve Gullion]], which can be seen from Slieve Donard.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 29.</ref>
 
Both cairns have been badly damaged and altered over time, and modern hillwalkers often add stones on top of them.<ref name=moore3/> Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage or disrespect such tombs and that deliberately doing so could bring a [[curse]].<ref>Sarah Champion & Gabriel Cooney. "Chapter 13: Naming the Places, Naming the Stones". ''Archaeology and Folklore''. Routledge, 2005. p.193</ref><ref>Doherty, Gillian. ''The Irish Ordnance Survey: History, Culture and Memory''. Four Courts Press, 2004. p.89</ref>
Line 45:
[[File:Slieve Donard Summit Cairn - geograph.org.uk - 1521811.jpg|250px|thumb|One of the summit cairns in 2009]]
 
It is likely that Slieve Donard was seen as a sacred mountain in the far past.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], pp.117-118</ref> [[Irish mythology]] identifies the Great Cairn as being the tomb or abode of mythical figures, and an entrance to [[Celtic Otherworld|the Otherworld]].<ref name=moore17>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], pp. 17–18.</ref> In ''[[Cath Maige Tuired]]'' ("'The Battle of Moytura"'), Slieve Donard is called one of the "twelve chief mountains" of Ireland,<ref>[[Augusta, Lady Gregory]]. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm/gafm07.htm Part I Book III: The Great Battle of Magh Tuireadh]. ''Gods and Fighting Men'' (1904) at Sacred-Texts.com.</ref> while in the [[Triads of Ireland]] it is called one of the "three great heights" of Ireland, along with [[Croagh Patrick]] and [[Great Sugar Loaf]].<ref name=moore17/> The earliest sources give two names for the mountain: ''Benn mBoirchi'' (modern spelling: ''Beann Boirche'') and ''Sliab Slánga'' (modern spelling: ''Sliabh Slángha'').<ref name=moore17/><ref>Paul Tempan. [https://www.academia.edu/1657030/Names_in_sliabh_in_the_Mourne_Mountains_and_beyond "Names in ''sliabh'' in the Mourne Mountains and beyond"]. [[Queen's University Belfast]].</ref> ''Beann Boirche'' means "'Boirche's peak"Peak', referring to a mythical [[herderHerder|cowherd]] and king who had seemingly supernatural powers. The plural name ''Beanna Boirche'' ("'Boirche's peaks"Peaks') was given to the Mourne Mountains. The name ''Sliabh Slángha'' means "'Slángha's mountain"Mountain'. This refers to the mythical Slángha, son of [[Partholón]], who was said to be the first physician in Ireland. According to the ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'', he died in [[Anno Mundi]] 2533 (2533 years after "the creation of the world") and was buried in the passage tomb.<ref name=moore17/>
 
Ireland was Christianized from the 5th to 8th centuries. A local Christian missionary, Saint Donard (known in Irish as ''Domhanghart''),<ref name="O'Mulconry">[[#ODonovan|O'Donovan (1856)]], [https://archive.org/stream/annalarioghachta01ocle#page/6/mode/2up p. 6].</ref><ref name="Joyce">[[#Joyce|Joyce (1885)]], [https://archive.org/stream/irishlocalnamese00joyc#page/82/mode/2up p. 83].</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ulsterplacenames.org/place_and_people_names.htm |title=Celebrating Ulster's Townlands |access-date=2 March 2016 |first=Kay |last=Muhr |date=12 March 2015 |work=UlsterPlaceNames.org |publisher=Ulster Place-Name Society, Queen's University |location=Belfast}}</ref> became associated with the mountain. According to tradition, he was a fifth-century follower of [[Saint Patrick]] and founded a [[Maghera Churches and Round Tower|monastery at Maghera]], a few miles north of the mountain. Donard is said to have "appropriated the mountain and the monument for Christianity",<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 113.</ref> allegedly by making the Great Cairn into a [[hermit]]'s cell and using the Lesser Cairn as an [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]].<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 57.</ref> According to the ''Life of Saint Patrick'' and the ''Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick'', Patrick blessed Donard in the womb, declaring that Donard would not die but [[King asleep in mountain|abide inside the mountain as a perpetual guardian]].<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], pp. 58–59.</ref> According to folklore, a cave runs from the seashore to the cairn on the summit, and it is here that Donard (or Boirche) lives.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 61.</ref> The writings of [[Gerald of Wales|Gerald de Barri]] indicate that in the late 12th century the name ''Sliabh Slángha'' was going out of use and being replaced by ''Sliabh Domhanghairt''.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 19.</ref> ''Sliabh Dónairt'' is the modernised spelling.
Line 63:
==See also==
 
{{commons|Slieve Donard}}
*[[Lists of mountains in Ireland]]
*[[List of Irish counties by highest point]]
Line 82 ⟶ 81:
 
==External links==
{{commons|Slieve Donard}}
*[https://mountainviews.ie/summit/858/ MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website]
*[https://mountainviews.ie/mv/irl150setup.htm MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database]
Line 91:
{{Irish provinces highest mountains|}}
{{Mountains and hills of Ulster}}
{{authorityAuthority control}}
 
{{authority control}}
 
[[Category:Marilyns of Northern Ireland]]
Line 99 ⟶ 98:
[[Category:Highest points of Irish counties]]
[[Category:Mountains under 1000 metres]]
[[Category:Sacred mountains of the United Kingdom]]