Art's Lough

CorvidFiesta and S are in Ireland at the moment and they are taking the opportunity to get up some Irish hills. Today we did Lugnaquilla together and the blip is Art's Loch  on the way down. 

Art O''Niell was the son of Shane O'Neill, Lord of Tyrone in the 16th century, who was imprisoned in Dublin Castle but escaped, with his brother Henry and Red Hugh O'Donnell,  on January 6th 1592. They then set off on a 36 mile trek from Dublin Castle to Glenmalure, over the Wickow Mountains in winter. Art did not make it and died of hypothermia in the hills (the place where he died is marked by a memorial plaque). There is a tradition among Irish hillwalkers of repeating the walk on 6th January, walking through the night, and it has now become an organised event. I did it once, about 1990 I think, but just with a group of friends on our own.

Lugnaquilla (affectionally known as "Lug") is one of Ireland's 3,000 ft hills and C+S's  last "Furth". Furths are hills over 3,000 feet in Ireland and Britain (excluding Scotland), just as Munros are Scottish Hills over 3'000 ft.  In Ireland there are 13 Furths listed: Lugnaquilla in Wicklow, Galtymore in Limerick/Tipperary, Mount Brandon in Kerry, and no less than 10 in MacGillycuddy's Reeks in Kerry. I have been along the MacGillycuddy's Reeks a couple of times, it is a good long day, but not exceptionally long: there is no way there is the equivalent of 10 Munros on the ridge, I would think it's probably more like 3. But it is a very fine ridge walk: there's even a couple of scrambly bits, which is unusual in Ireland.