Slieve Snaght
Name
The mountain is said to be so named because snow lies on its summit until late May. In Cath Maige Tuired ("The Battle of Moytura"), a tale from Irish mythology, Slieve Snaght is called one of the "twelve chief mountains" of Ireland. There is a tradition of pilgrimage to the top of Slieve Snaght at Lughnasa, and a holy well near the summit, called Tobar na Súl ("well of the eyes"), is said to cure blindness.
History
In 1825, the summit was one of those used as a base for mapping Ireland as part of the Ordnance Survey's Principal Triangulation. The surveyors, which included Thomas Drummond, camped on the summit and built a wall to shield themselves from the weather. Drummond's team shone a limelight from Slieve Snaght towards Thomas Colby's team on Divis 67 miles (108 km) away, the first time a limelight was used for surveying.
See also
- Lists of mountains in Ireland
- Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles
- List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
- List of Marilyns in the British Isles
- List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland
References
- ^ Database of British and Irish Hills. Retrieved 21 Jan 2012.
- ^ MountainViews.ie
- ^ Augusta, Lady Gregory. Part I Book III: The Great Battle of Magh Tuireadh. Gods and Fighting Men (1904) at Sacred-Texts.com.
- ^ Hewitt, Rachel. Map of a Nation: A Biography Of The Ordnance Survey. Granta Books, 2011.