Galtymore is one of the country’s ten highest peaks and commands sweeping views over much of the S midlands incl. the Ballyhouras, Knockmealdowns, Comeraghs and Mt. Leinster. It has a lot of v steep ground and some fine corries on its northern face so take care esp. in poor weather. There are plenty of route choices with well-defined trails.

SSE Park at the top of The Black road R89306 20345 A. This popular route follows a rocky, easy to follow track all the way to R89345 23482 B (637m), go left here and follow the stony (becoming muddy) track to the col between Galtymore and Galtybeg (or take in G’beg first), from where there’s a steep pull, uneven to the top. This is a short up and down circa 12k and 4 hrs.

S There is a rocky track from Kings Yard R87526 19959 C which becomes boggy after the sheep pen at R87409 21077 D and ends at approx. R87551 22234 E. After that you need to navigate to the stone wall at R87149 23518 F and from there it’s an easy walk to the summit. [5k to top with 715m asc]

N. From Clydagh Bridge, where there is a big carpark at R87450 27780 G there are a couple of options : a classic horseshoe taking in Cush and Galtybeg [15k in total 1200m asc] or a more direct approach which brings you first to Lough Curra followed by a steep climb to R86447 23952 H [7k to top with 750m asc]

It’s also possible to take in this summit as part of a long distance traverse of the whole of the range.

Notable tracks incl. track/2076, track/3772 and the lengthy track/2766. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/14/comment/4774/

If you want to see Galtymore at its best then the classic northern horseshoe is far superior to the approach from the south (but you forego the advantage of the high start, so it's much steeper and more energetic). Plenty of parking half a mile up the boreen east of Clydagh Bridge, then follow the easy forest tracks, well waymarked as the route to Lough Curra. Eventually this leaves the forest and goes up fairly steeply to a minor peaklet with a big square block. From here the waymarked route goes off left, but a smaller but clear path goes straight on up past a prominent big cairn to the broad plateau of Slievecushnabinnia. Note that the summit is at the west end, not where shown on the OSi map (grid ref correct on MV). A wall takes you eastwards up to a shoulder of Galtymore, with great views down to Lough Curra, then a steeper pull up to the summit (which isn't the first cairn, although in mist it feels like it should be). There is a white cross just before the proper summit, which has a broken trig point as well as a big cairn. A brief detour to the northern edge gave me a great Brocken Spectre, a nice way to celebrate a second round of UK & Irish 3000 footers. The descent eastwards is steep but easy, then a short pull takes you onto Galtybeg, with a short bit of nice sharp ridge. The views back to the NE face of Galtymore are excellent (with quite an impressive icefall on it when I was there, wonder if it's been climbed?). The first part of the descent towards Cush is quite steep, with something of an "am I about to walk over a cliff?" feel at first, but it soon eases. Cush is a fair pull too, but well worth it for the lovely perch on the summit. I had four ravens wheeling around for entertainment too, probably complaining that I'd nicked their seat! A good path takes you down the NW shoulder to meet the boreen just above the car park. It's about 14km with 1150m of ascent, so "quite a pech", but worth it! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/14/comment/20399/

A side-on view of Galtymore showing the gradient of its north facing side alongside those of Slievecushnabinnia, Galtybeg and Greenane West. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/14/comment/23561/

Climbed Galtymore 13 Nov 2011 from Black road route R89284 20381 I incorporating Knockeentoung,Galtybeg,Galtymore and finishing with the 2 seefins in a 3 hour 20 mins circuit.Unbelievably windy on the summit so only a brief stay for a few pics.Will definitely be back on a clearer day.
Main walk Length:12.7km Start: 08:44, End: 12:02, Durn: 3h18m, Asc: 1045m, Desc: 925m Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/14/comment/6625/

This photo shows the cliffs above Lough Curra, with Galtymore on the skyline. Claude Wall [Mountaineering in Ireland] described the cliffs as “vegetated and unpromising”, however it was that very vegetation which interested the botanist R Lloyd Praeger. He said “A number of alpine species cling to the cliffs, but they are of the more widespread kinds. The best plant of the hills is Saxifraga spathularis …” Just in case you see one of these plants I gather it has thick green leaves and sports impressive 5-petalled pink flowers on longish red stalks.

On another note the picture also illustrates a safety issue with a lot of the Galtees. Left in this picture is towards the north. Don’t assume that you can leave the main ridge towards the north just anywhere. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/14/comment/534/