Mourne Mountains

The Mourne Mountains, also called the Mournes or the Mountains of Mourne, are a predominantly granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountain in all of Ulster, Slieve Donard at. The Mournes are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it has been proposed to make the area Northern Ireland's first national park. The area is partly owned by the National Trust and sees over 50,000 visitors every year. The Mourne Wall crosses fifteen of the summits and was built to enclose the catchment basin of the Silent Valley and Ben Crom reservoirs. The wall, and the area inside it, are owned by Northern Ireland Water.

Name

The name 'Mourne' is derived from the name of a Gaelic clan or sept called the Múghdhorna. The older name of this mountainous territory was Bairrche, which is likely a collective noun derived from the Irish barr, meaning 'top, peak'. This survives in the Irish name for the mountains, na Beanna Boirche, literally "the peaks of the peak district". It was historically anglicized as 'Bennyborfy'. The name Bairche or Boirche was also personified as the mythical shepherd of the mountains.
Many of the mountains have names beginning "Slieve", from the Irish sliabh, meaning "mountain".

Mountains

On clear days, the Mourne Mountains can be seen from the Isle of Man and Dublin.

Rank	Name	Irish name	Elevation	Prominence
1	Slieve Donard Highest in Ulster	Sliabh Dónairt
2	Slieve Commedagh	Sliabh Coimhéideach
3	Slieve Binnian	Sliabh Binneáin
4	Slieve Bearnagh	Sliabh Bearnach
5	Slieve Lamagan	Sliabh Lámhagáin
6	Slieve Meelbeg	Sliabh Míol Beag
7	Slieve Meelmore	Sliabh Míol Mór
8	Slieve Bearnagh North Tor	—
9	Slieve Binnian North Top	—
10	Slieve Muck	Sliabh Muc
11	Chimney Rock Mtn/Slieve Neir	Sliabh an Aoire
12	Cove Mountain	—
13	Slieve Corragh	Sliabh Corrach
14	Eagle Mountain	Sliabh an Iolair
15	Shanlieve	Seanshliabh
16	Slieve Loughshannagh	Sliabh Loch Seannach
17	Slieve Beg	Sliabh Beag
18	Doan	Dún Maol Chobha
19	Slievenaglogh	Sliabh na gCloch
20	Carn Mountain	Sliabh an Chairn
21	Finlieve	Finnshliabh
22	Slievemoughanmore	—
23	Crossone	Cros Eoghain
24	Pigeon Rock Mtn/Drumlee	Droim Lao
25	Ott Mountain	Ucht
26	Ben Crom	Binn Chrom
27	Rocky Mountain	Sliabh na gCloch
28	Spences Mountain	—		Unknown
29	Cock Mountain/Slievahilly	Sliabh an Choiligh
30	Butter Mountain	Sliabh an Ime

Rank	Name	Irish name	Translation	Height
31	Slievemartin	Sliabh Mártain	Martin's mountain
32	Spaltha	Unknown	Unknown
33	Thomas Mountain	Unknown	Unknown
34	Tievedockaragh	Taobh Docrach	difficult hillside
35	Spelga	Speilgeach	place of pointed rocks
36	Slievemeen	Sliabh Mín	smooth mountain
37	Pierces Castle	Unknown	Unknown
38	Crenville	Unknown	Unknown
39	Millstone Mountain	Unknown	Unknown
40	Wee Binnian	Broinn Bhinneáin	breast of Binnian
41	Slievenagarragh	Unknown	Unknown
42	Slievenamaddy	Sliabh na Madaidh	dog mountain
43	Altaggart Mountain	Unknown	Unknown
44	Slievenaglogh	Sliabh na gCloch	mountain of the stones
45	Slievenamiskan	Sliabh Meascáin	butter lump mountain
46	Slievenabrock	Sliabh na mBroc	badger mountain
47	Hares Gap	Unknown	Unknown
48	Hares Castle	Unknown	Unknown
49	Wee Slievemoughan	Unknown	Unknown
50	Slievedermot	Sliabh Diarmuid	Dermot's mountain
51	Slievemeel	Sliabh Maol	bald mountain
52	Leganabruchan	Unknown	Unknown
53	Craigdoo	Creag Dubh	black rock
54	Rocky Mountain	Unknown	Unknown
55	Slieve Ban	Sliabh Bán	white mountain
56	Windy Gap	Unknown	Unknown
57	Lukes Mountain	Unknown	Unknown
58	Slievebane	Unknown	Unknown
59	Tornamrock	Torr na mBroc	Torr of the Badgers
60	Slievenamuck	Unknown	Unknown
61	Gruggandoo	Unknown	Unknown
62	Black Stairs	Unknown	Unknown
63	Deers Meadow	Unknown	Unknown
64	Carnadranna	Unknown	Unknown
65	Slieve Roe	Sliabh Ruadh	red mountain
66	Slieve Roosley	Unknown	Unknown
67	Hen Mountain/Slievenakirk	Sliabh na Circe	hen mountain
68	Trainors Rocks	Unknown	Unknown
69	Lugagour	Unknown	Unknown
70	Leckan More	Unknown	Unknown
71	Percy Bysshe	Unknown	Unknown
72	Crannoge	Unknown	Unknown
73	The Fallow	Unknown	Unknown
74	Crotlieve	Crotshliabh	hump-mountain
75	Knockshee	Cnoc Sidhe	fairy hill
76	Long Seefin	Suidhe Finn	Finn's seat
77	Glen Fofanny	Unknown	Unknown
78	Slievenagore	Unknown	Unknown
79	Moolieve	Unknown	Unknown
80	Mullagharve	Unknown	Unknown
81	Slievenaman	Unknown	Unknown
82	Ardglash	Unknown	Unknown
83	Wee Roosley	Unknown	Unknown
84	Slievemageogh	Unknown	Unknown
85	Slievemiskan	Unknown	Unknown
86	Carmeen	Unknown	Unknown
87	Grugganskeagh	Unknown	Unknown
88	Knockchree	Unknown	Unknown

Other features

The below sub-headings detail other features and visitor attractions found in the Mourne Mountains.

The Mourne Wall

The Mourne Wall is a dry stone wall measuring in length that crosses fifteen summits and was constructed to define and protect the catchment area purchased by Belfast Water Commissioners in the late 19th century. This followed a number of Acts of Parliament allowing the sale, and the establishment of a water supply from the Mournes to the growing industrial city of Belfast. Construction of the Mourne Wall was started in 1904 and was completed in 1922.
The Mourne Wall has been a listed building since 1996, and 600 repairs were completed in 2018 by Geda Construction.

Forests

Tollymore Forest Park is at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle in the Mourne and Slieve Croob Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It covers an area of at the foot of the Mourne Mountains and has views of the surrounding mountains and the sea at nearby Newcastle. The Shimna River flows through the park where it is crossed by 16 bridges, the earliest dating to 1726. The river is a spawning ground for salmon and trout and is an Area of Special Scientific Interest for its geology, flora and fauna. The forest has four walking trails signposted by different coloured arrows, the longest being the "long haul trail". The Forest Park has been managed by the Forest Service since they purchased it from the Roden Estate in 1941.
Donard Forest is near Newcastle, County Down. It borders Donard Park at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. The Glen River flows through the forest, crossed by three stone bridges.
Rostrevor Forest is near the village of Rostrevor, County Down, between the Mourne Mountains and Carlingford Lough, in the Mourne Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The first trees, primarily sitka spruce, douglas fir and pine, were planted in 1931.

Reservoirs

All water reservoirs are owned and maintained by Northern Ireland Water.
Silent Valley Reservoir is a reservoir in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down. It supplies most of the water for County Down, surrounding counties and most of Belfast via the Aquarius pipeline. The reservoir was built between 1923 and 1933 by a workforce of over one thousand men, nine of whom died during construction. The catchment area is 9,000-acres.
Ben Crom Reservoir is upstream of Silent Valley in the Kilkeel River valley, and supplies the same areas. It was constructed between 1953 and 1957.
Spelga Reservoir is in the townland of Spelga, close to Hilltown, in the North West of the Mourne Mountains. It was formed by construction of Spelga Dam and sits at over 1,200 ft above sea level. The dam was constructed between 1953 and 1957, and has a volume of 2,700,000 cubic metres and a catchment area of 1,340-acres.
Fofanny Dam Reservoir is approximately 2 km north-east of Spelga Dam and is much smaller.

Flora and fauna

Aside from grasses, the most common plants found in the Mournes are heathers and gorse. Of the former, three species are found: cross-leaved heath, bell heather, and common heather. Of the latter, two species are found: common gorse and western gorse. Other plants which grow in the area are: common cottongrass, roseroot, harebell, marsh St John's-wort, wild thyme, wood sorrel and heath spotted orchid.
Sheep graze high into the mountains, and the range is also home to birds, including the raven, peregrine falcon, wren, buzzard, meadow pipit, grey wagtail, stonechat and snipe. The golden eagle, a former inhabitant, has not been seen in the Mournes since 1836.

Recreation

"Discover Northern Ireland", a website operated by Tourism NI, promotes the Mourne Mountains as a popular destination for hiking and taking in views of the surrounding landscape, including local forests and the coastline. The Mournes offer a range of activities for visitors, including hiking, forest and beach walks, cycling and rock climbing, with nearly three-quarters of visitors choosing the Mournes as a place to go walking and hiking.
The Mournes are a popular destination for Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions. However, there are also a number of walking challenges which take place in the Mournes. The Mourne Wall challenge, which is also referred to as the 7-peak challenge because it takes into account 7 of the 10 highest Mourne mountains, is advertised by WalkNI. The Mourne six peak challenge is advertised by DiscoverNI and takes hikers up Slieve Donard, Commedagh, Bearnagh, Slieve Binnian, Slieve Meelmore and Slieve Meelbeg across three days of hiking.
Information and statistics on tourism to the Mournes were gathered by TourismNI in 2014. In a survey of leisure visitors, 79% were found to come from Northern Ireland, 15% from elsewhere in the British Isles or Republic of Ireland, and 5–6% were international visitors. Two-thirds of all visitors made a single-day trip rather staying overnight, and party sizes averaged between 3 and 4 people.
There are many granite cliffs, in the form of outcrops and tors, scattered throughout the range, making the Mournes one of Northern Ireland's major rock-climbing areas since the first recorded ascents in the 1930s. The rockforms are generally quite rounded, thus often requiring cams for protection, but with good friction. The 1998 guidebook lists 26 separate crags, with a total of about 900 routes of all grades.

Conservation

Following a fundraising drive in 1993, the National Trust purchased nearly of land in the Mournes, which included a part of Slieve Donard and nearby Slieve Commedagh, the second-highest mountain in the area.
It has been proposed that the Mourne Mountains be made Northern Ireland's first national park. The plan has been subject to controversy because of the area's status as private property, with over 1,000 farmers based in the proposed park, and also because of fears over the impact on local communities, bureaucracy and house prices.

Gorse burning

There is a tradition in the Mournes of controlled burning of gorse to clear land for sheep to graze. However, many fires are unmanaged and some become out-of-control wildfires. In the 1950s, Emyr Estyn Evans had written that some shepherds in the Mournes tended to burn gorse and heather recklessly. He said that such over-burning "results in widespread destruction" and, along with other mismanagement, had "greatly impoverished the mountain environment". In the 21st century there have been hundreds of heather and gorse wildfires in the Mournes each year, the vast majority started deliberately, with "farmers and vandals" often blamed. It is claimed many of the wildfires are caused by sheep farmers and landowners carrying out unapproved burning to clear gorse/heather and thus maximize the subsidy payments they receive for the amount of grazing-land they have. Some are also caused by careless visitors.
Under the law, farmers must follow rules when burning gorse and heather: the burning may only be carried out from 1 September until 14 April; they must notify the fire service and have permission to do so; it must be carried out under supervision; and it must be properly controlled with fire breaks.
In April 2021, more than a hundred firefighters tackled a major gorse wildfire in the eastern Mournes, which blazed for three days and devastated habitat in the area. The over-clearing of gorse, heather and trees also heightens the risk of landslides.
Historically, gorse had many uses in the rural economy and hill farmers often cleared gorse by hand.

Wind farm proposal

In 2015, German-owned company ABO Wind applied to build a wind farm at Gruggandoo in the western Mourne Mountains. Its first two applications were turned down, and its revised application is to build eight turbines standing high, along with a network of access tracks, substations and a control building. The turbines would be among the tallest structures in Ireland. The company claims they could power 37% of homes in the district. There is opposition, as the wind farm would be in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would impact wildlife and habitats. Local protest group, Mourne AONB Against Windfarms, warn it would open the door for further wind farms to be built in the Mournes and other protected areas. Planning officers for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council deem the wind farm "unacceptable" and recommended the council reject it. In 2020, councillors instead voted to ask for a public inquiry.

Popular culture

The mountains are immortalised in a song written by Percy French in 1896, "The Mountains of Mourne". The song has been recorded by many artists, including Don McLean, and was quoted in Irish group Thin Lizzy's 1979 song "Roisin Dubh : A Rock Legend".
"The Mountains of Mourne" are also mentioned in John Lennon's song "The Luck of the Irish" on the album Some Time in New York City.
The scenery of the Mourne Mountains have also provided the backdrop for a number of productions, most famously HBO's Game of Thrones.
Many local painters have depicted the mountains, including the same Percy French, who immortalized them in song.
The Mourne Mountains also influenced C. S. Lewis to create the mythical world featured in his The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Helicopter crash

On 23 October 2010 an AgustaWestland AW109 was operating a VFR flight from Enniskillen Airport to Caernarfon Airport, Wales. While en route the helicopter crashed into the western side of Shanlieve, killing all three passengers and crew on board. The cause of the accident was determined to be pilot error in heavy fog.