Mountains of the Central Dingle Peninsula explained

See also: Mountains of the Dingle Peninsula.

The Mountains of the Central Dingle Peninsula are the generic name given to the mountains that lie on the Dingle Peninsula between the Brandon Group of mountains in the west, and the Slieve Mish Mountains at the eastern end of the peninsula.

Geology

Like many of the mountain ranges in County Kerry, such as the MacGillycuddy Reeks, the mountains of the Central Dingle peninsula are composed predominantly of Devonian period Old Red Sandstone, with a band of Ordovician period metasediments.^{[2] [3]}

The rocks date from the Upper Devonian period (310–450 million years ago) when Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting.^[4] During this 60 million year period, Ireland was the site of a major basin, known as the Munster basin, and Cork and Kerry were effectively a large alluvial floodplain.^[4] Chemical oxidation stained the material with a purple–reddish colour (and green in places from chlorination), still visible today.^[4] There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone.^[4]

The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable and includes sandstones, mudstones, siltstones, and conglomerates (boulders containing quartz pebbles are visible throughout the range).^[4] The mountains were subject to significant glaciation with corries and U-shaped valleys, however the range does not have the sharp rocky arêtes and ridges of the MacGillycuddy Reeks range.^[4]

List of peaks

See main article: Lists of mountains in Ireland. The following is a download from the MountainViews Online Database, who list 23 identifiable Central Dingle peaks with an elevation, or height, above 100 metres

Peaks of the Central Dingle Mountain range (MountainViews Online Database, July 2019)

Height Rank	Prom. Rank	Name	Irish Name (if different)	Translation	Height (m)	Prom. (m)	Height (ft)	Prom. (ft)	Topo Map	OSI Grid Reference
1	1	Beenoskee	Binn os Gaoith	Mountain above the Wind/Estuary	826	491	2,710	1,611	70
2	20	Stradbally Mountain	Cnoc an tSráidbhaile	Hill of Stradbally	798	40	2,618	131	70
3	2	Slievanea NE Top	—	—	671	265	2,200	869	70
4	12	An Cnapán Mór	—	The Big Lump	649	81	2,129	266	70
5	6	Cnoc na Bánóige	—	Hill of the Grassy Patch	642	176	2,105	577	70
6	21	Slievanea	Sliabh Macha Ré	Mountain of the Smooth Plain	629	22	2,063	73	70
7	19	Coombane	An Com Bán	The White Hollow	610	42	2,001	138	70
8	23	Croaghskearda	Cruach Sceirde	Stack of the Exposed Place	608	13	1,995	43	70
9	18	Knockmulanane	Cnoc Mhaoilionáin	Mulfinan's hill	593	48	1,946	157	70
10	15	Beenatoor	Binn an Tuair	Peak of the Bleaching Green	592	66	1,942	217	70
11	22	Knockmulanane West Top	—	—	563	15	1,847	49	70
12	5	Dromavally Mountain	Cnoc Dhroim an Bhaile	Hill of Dromavally	552	206	1,811	676	71
13	9	Sliabh na nGabhar	—	Mountain of the Goats	486	120	1,594	394	70
14	7	Cummeen	Sliabh an Choimín	Mountain of the Little Hollow	477	162	1,565	531	71
15	17	Gob an Iolair	—	Beak of the eagle	477	48	1,564	158	70
16	14	An Starraicín	—	The Steeple	458	71	1,504	233	70
17	16	Cnoc na Bánóige N Top	—		448	52	1,469	170	70
18	13	Knocknakilton	(unknown)	(unknown)	423	79	1,388	259	71
19	4	Brickany	Breicneach	Speckled Place	374	219	1,227	719	71
20	3	Knocknanacree	Cnoc na nAcraí	hill of na hAcraí/Acres	286	260	938	853	70
21	8	Cnoc an Ghleanna	—	Hill of the Glen	252	136	827	446	70
22	11	Carrigadav	Carraig an Daimh	The Rock of the Bull	240	96	787	315	71
23	10	Farrandalouge	Fearann Dealúigh	The Land of the Two Hollows	144	97	472	318	70

See also

• Brandon Group, a mountain range in Dingle Peninsula
• Slieve Mish Mountains, a mountain range in Dingle Peninsula
• Lists of mountains in Ireland
• List of mountains of the British Isles by height
• List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
• List of Marilyns in the British Isles
• List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Beenoskee. MountainViews Online Database. 8 February 2019.
2. Web site: Site Name: Slieve Mish Mountains (Special Area of Conservation). Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht . 20 July 2016 . 20 July 2019 .
3. Web site: Slieve Mish Mountains SAC . September 2017 . 20 July 2019 . National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland).
4. Book: Ryan . Jim . Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains . Collins Press . 978-1905172337 . 2006 .