MacGillycuddy's Reeks


MacGillycuddy's Reeks is a sandstone and siltstone mountain range in the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Stretching, from the Gap of Dunloe in the east, to Glencar in the west, the Reeks is Ireland's highest mountain range, and includes most of the highest peaks and sharpest ridges in Ireland, and the only peaks on the island over in height. Situated near the centre of the range is Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain at. The range was heavily glaciated which carved out deep corries, U-shaped valleys, and sharp arêtes and ridges.
The range is a popular destination for mountain walking and climbing and includes some of Ireland's most regarded walking routes such as the 15–kilometre Coomloughra Horseshoe, and the 26-kilometre MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk that traverses the full range; it is estimated that over 140,000 people visit the range each year. The entire range is in private ownership; however, reasonable access is given for recreational use.

Geology

MacGillycuddy's Reeks are composed of sandstone particles of various sizes which are collectively known as the Old Red Sandstone. The rocks date from the Upper Devonian period when Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting. During this 60 million year period, Ireland was the site of a major basin, known as the Munster basin, and the counties of Cork and Kerry were effectively a large alluvial floodplain. Chemical oxidation stained the material with a purple–reddish colour, still visible today. There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone. The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable and contains quartz stones, mudstones, siltstones, and sandstone particles. The Reeks were also subject to significant glaciation which led to fracturing of the rock, and resulted in deep corries, U-shaped valleys, and sharp arêtes and ridges.

Geography

MacGillycuddy's Reeks are variously described as consisting of two main sections, containing all ten of the Reeks that are above 3,000 ft:
The Eastern Reeks meet the Coomloughea Reeks at the col of the Devil's Ladder, a popular ascent route for Carrauntoohil.
MacGillycuddy's Reeks contains the three peaks in Ireland which are over in height, namely: Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain at, followed by Beenkeragh at and Caher at.
The range contains eleven of the fourteen peaks in Ireland that are over in height, and meet the Vandeleur-Lynam classification of a mountain—peaks with a prominence over. All but one of these eleven 3,000 ft peaks, namely Cnoc an Chuillinn East Top, are amongst the list of thirteen Irish Furths—peaks which meet the Scottish Mountaineering Club's criteria for a Munro, and they are therefore also known as Irish Munros.
There are 29 peaks in the range above in height. The range contains 14 Irish Hewitts, and 16 Irish Arderins. The range is also known for its sharp aretes, including The Bones arete, more famously known as the Beenkeragh Ridge, and The Big Gun arete.
A feature of the range is the modest topographic prominence, or "drop" between many of its peaks. Only two of the eleven Reeks over 3,000 ft meet the Marilyn classification of a mountain, namely Carrauntoohil and Cnoc na Péiste. The only Reek that meets the P600 classification, is Carrauntoohil itself. The combination of high peaks and low prominence, means the ridges between the peaks are at a sustained height, which has contributed to the popularity of ridge walking in the Reeks, particularly, the Coomloughra Horseshoe, and the MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk, and the term, "Ireland's highest mountain range".

Ownership

The entire range is held in private ownership, both in individually owned freehold parcels in the lower reaches and in commonly owned, open upland zones. A State-sponsored report into access for the range in December 2013 titled MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Development Assessment, mapped the complex network of land titles. Unlike many other national mountain ranges, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks are not part of a national park or a trust structure.
The private ownership has led to issues around the upkeep of popular paths in the Reeks, most particularly the erosion of the Devil's Ladder path, which is used to summit Carrauntoohil; and various car-parks and bridges used by climbers. The 2013 MAP report noted the importance of safety in light of the increasing climbers and walkers to the Reeks. The MAP report stated that Kerry Mountain Rescue logged 17 fatalities on the Reeks between 1966 and 2000, or about one every second year, but since 2000, KMR had been logging approximately 2 fatalities per annum.
In 2019 the Irish Times reported that the MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Forum, a cross-body group of landowners, commercial users and public access and walking groups set up in 2014 with the aim of "protecting, managing and sustainably developing the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks mountain range, while halting and reversing the obvious and worsening path erosion", had achieved some success laying down new pathways in the Hag's Glen approach to Carrauntoohil; however, the Irish Times still wondered, "Should the Kerry reeks be a national park?".

Naming

The name of the range is, which is shortened in the Irish form to, meaning "The Black Stacks". However, in the English form, the name is translated as "MacGillycuddy's Reeks". The English name is sometimes incorrectly written as "The MacGillycuddy's Reeks", "MacGillycuddy Reeks", or "Macgillycuddy's Reeks".
The MacGillycuddy were a sept, or branch, of the O'Sullivan Moore clan. The MacGillycuddy is recorded as being one of a smaller number of Gaelic chieftains whose lands were returned post the Cromwellian confiscations, which explains why the name survives to this day. The MacGillycuddy family tomb is at Kilgobnet, between the mountains and Killorglin. The clan chief, McGillycuddy of the Reeks, owned land in this part of Munster until the end of the 20th century. The word reek is a Hiberno-English version of the English word , meaning a stack.

Recreation

Visitors

Jim Ryan's 2006 book on the Reeks, Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains, stated that there were 25,000 annual visitors to the Reeks. The 2013 MAP report quoted Ryan's figures, which were cited in the MAP's Terms of Reference, but stated that: "The Reeks are accessed by at least 25,000 recreational users per annum. It is highly likely that the numbers are a factor of 4 times higher based on observation of the year-round level of usage – but data is required to ascertain the visitor numbers." It was estimated that 125,000 visitors entered the range in 2017 from footfall at three main access points, and that 140,000 entered in 2018 by recording footfall at four main access points.

Hill walking

The most common reason for visiting the Reeks is to climb Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil. The popular route starts from Cronin's Yard and enters the Hag's Glen to climb the Devil's Ladder, from which the summit is accessed. A more challenging route is via the Hag's Tooth Ridge which circles the Eagle's Nest, and takes in Beenkeragh, and the Beenkeragh Ridge.
MacGillycuddy's Reeks is particularly regarded for the quality of its ridge walking routes, with the 6–8 hour Coomloughra Horseshoe, that circles Lough Coomloughra, considered "one of Ireland’s classic ridge walks", which takes in all three of Ireland's peaks, namely, Carrauntoohil, Beenkeragh, and Caher, as well as the famous Beenkeragh Ridge.
The most challenging route is the full MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk, a 12- to 14-hour, traverse of the entire range. The route normally starts at the eastern end from Kate Kearney's Cottage in the Gap of Dunloe. The route takes in Stickeen Mountain and Cnoc an Bhráca before reaching the ridge proper at Cruach Mhór. From there it continues along the narrow arete of The Big Gun to Cnoc na Péiste, and continuing along the chain of Maolán Buí, Cnoc an Chuillinn, Cnoc na Toinne to the summit of Carrauntoohil. From Carrauntoohil, a number of variations are possible, the main one being a detour to Beenkeragh before returning along the same route to get to Caher and then on to Caher West Top before descending to the Hydro-Track car park near Lough Acoose, Glencar. An alternative variation is to continue from Beenkeragh on the northern side of the Coomloughra Horseshoe to the peaks or Skregmore and Cnoc Íochtair before descending to the Hydro-Track car park.

Rock and winter climbing

MacGillycuddy's Reeks are not especially known for their rock-climbing routes, unlike Ailladie in Clare or Fair Head in Antrim. The rock climbing grade Very Difficult, Howling Ridge up the central arete between the east and north-east faces of Carrauntoohil is notable. The north-east face of Carrauntoohil, is better known for its winter climbing, conditions permitting, offering 80 routes with 7 up to winter Grade V.

List of peaks

The following is a download from the MountainViews Online Database, which lists 29 identifiable Reeks with an elevation, or height, above.
Height
Rank		Prominence
Rank		NameHeight
Prominence
Height
Prominence
Topo
Map		OSI Grid
Reference
11Carrauntoohil1,0391,0393,4073,40778
28Beenkeragh1,008913,30829878
35Caher1,0001003,28132778
42Cnoc na Péiste9882533,24183078
525Caher West Top973243,1947978
620Maolán Buí973383,19212578
715Cnoc an Chuillinn958533,14317478
821The Bones957373,13812278
912The Big Gun939743,08124378
1022Cruach Mhór932343,05811278
1128Cnoc an Chuillinn East Top926213,0386978
1223Knockbrinnea 854292,8029578
1326Stumpa Bharr na hAbhann852232,7967678
1416Skregmore848502,78116478
1527Knockbrinnea 847222,7797278
169Cnoc na Toinne845802,77226278
1719Cnoc Íochtair746442,44814478
187Cnoc an Bhráca731962,39831578
1914Cnoc na dTarbh655602,14919778
2029Hag's Tooth650152,1334978
2117Brassel Mountain575501,88616478
2210Screig Bheag573781,88025678
236Binn Bhán460961,50831578
2424Binn Dubh452271,4838978
2511Binn Dhearg450761,47524978
2618Struicín440451,44414878
2713Cnoc Breac425701,39423078
283Knocknabrone Hill3531881,15861778
294Gortnagan29812297840078