Ballyhoura Mountains
The Ballyhoura Mountains are in south-east County Limerick and north-east County Cork in central Munster, Ireland, running east and west for about 6 miles on the borders of both counties.
Name
The name 'Ballyhoura' comes from Irish Bealach Abhradh, meaning "Abhradh's pass or way". Their Irish name An Sliabh Riabhach, anglicized 'Slieve Reagh', means "the brindled mountain.Landscape
The mountains include Seefin, near Seefin on the northwest is Black Rock and 3 miles to the west is Carron Mountain on the boundary of Cork and Limerick. Immediately east of Seefin is Knockea, east of which again is the detached mountain of Knockeennamroanta. Between these is the pass of Barnaderg, leading from the plain of Limerick to the plain of Cork. At the north side of the valley is the peak of Barnageeha.The southern part of the hills is largely afforested with conifer plantations, on the northern side there is extensive heathland and blanket bog. The Ballyhoura Mountains have been listed as a Special Area of Conservation. The blanket bog occurs in most of the flatter areas and features such species as heather, with deergrass, hare’s-tail cottongrass, common cottongrass, bilberry and crowberry. The wet heath is dominated by heather, cross-leaved heath and bilberry accompanied by a range of mosses and liverworts. The dry heath is more species-rich, with bell heather, green-ribbed sedge, tormentil, bent grasses and mosses such as Hypnum jutlandicum.