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{{EngvarB|date=November 2013}}
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{{Infobox mountain
| name = Slieve Donard
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'''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]]
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==
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==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>
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[[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]]'' (
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.
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==See also==
{{commons|Slieve Donard}}▼
*[[Lists of mountains in Ireland]]
*[[List of Irish counties by highest point]]
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==External links==
*[https://mountainviews.ie/summit/858/ MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website]
*[https://mountainviews.ie/mv/irl150setup.htm MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database]
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{{Irish provinces highest mountains|}}
{{Mountains and hills of Ulster}}
▲{{authority control}}
[[Category:Marilyns of Northern Ireland]]
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[[Category:Highest points of Irish counties]]
[[Category:Mountains under 1000 metres]]
[[Category:Sacred mountains of the United Kingdom]]
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