darrenf on Knocknagun

Knocknagun is a natural extension of any trip to PWS. It has been well noted on this site of the boggy conditions between PWS and Knocknagun however on a recent visit to the area (18th July 09) while the conditions were soggy they were by no means impassable. Indeed there is a lot of backtracking and leap frogging to contend with but surely we are familair with this scenerio! Its a short leap to Knocknagun from PWS, 20 mins perhaps and its a trip I would recommend - the views are worthy of the short extension to the walk. Djouce, Maulin, Tonduffs, and Kippure with its eagle nest and corrie lakes are all in view. I dropped down to the forest edge between Knocknagun and PWS for my descent and took the track which handrails the forest edge. This eventually takes you to a series of wider forest tracks which will bring you to Cloon Carpark ( Cloon (O174 170)). Its a short sprint along the road back to Curtlestown Wood Carpark (B (O175 167)) where I began the walk. 2.5-3 hours in total should suffice to complete the loop of PWS and Knocknagun. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/351/comment/3947/

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And out of the mist...........

Climbed Knocknagun on a miserable rainy misty Friday evening in September.Parked car at gateway to visible track C (O14102 18667).Followed track NE direction until I reached the col between Glendoo and Knocknagun(D (O15082 19356) roughly 510m height).I then took a SE direction to the summit of Knocknagun which out of the mist revealed an incredibly large summit Tor.E (O16367 18555) Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/351/comment/6587/

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padodes on Knocknagun

A visit to Knocknagun some time ago gave me the itch to find out more about the origin of ‘tors’, those layered, convoluted rocky outcrops that can be found, among other places, on or near the tops of a handful of our granite mountains in Dublin and Wicklow (see photo). Although they aren’t as abundant as those to be found on the granite landscapes of Dartmoor in England or the Mournes in the North, they are equally intriguing when it comes to trying to figure out the process of their geological formation. (The word ‘tor’, too, is interesting in itself, since it is one of the few Celtic survivals in the English language. It is related to the Irish ‘tor’ or ‘túr’ and the Welsh ‘twr’, meaning tower.)

In the 18th century, it was suggested that tors were artificial constructions raised by the druids, but that speculation was swept aside by the development of geology as a science. There was even a stormy ‘tor controversy’ in Britain, with a lot of hot air in the sails of several different theories. One of them, Linton’s two-stage theory, is still defended today and might provide a plausible explanation for our own homegrown variety. This theory argues that tors were first sculpted in the warmer Tertiary Period by the chemical action of acidulated underground water on the jointed, fractured granite bedrock, which caused decay along the cleavage lines. Essentially, the feldspar in the granite was altered to kaolinite (china clay). Later, during a phase of intense freeze/thaw conditions in the Quaternary Period, more exactly the Pleistocene, the decomposed rock was removed by a kind of soil creep, the downhill slippage of waterlogged sediment over the permafrost beneath. In this way the residual outcrops finally stood out in the light of day and were exposed, as they still are today, to the further destructive action of the elements.

It’s a simplification, I know, but I find it gives me a bit of perspective – several million years of it, in fact – when I visit Three Rock, Two Rock, Carrigvore, Knocknagun, or other long-suffering tors further afield. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/351/comment/3622/

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Cloghnagun is also likely William's Seat

Prince William's Seat and Knocknagun. These are the OS names for two popular hills between Glencullen & Glencree and people often enquire as to the identity of Prince William. It has been suggested that it's named after William, son of George IV, after a royal visit in 1821. Whilst it's possible that there might be a connection with this, in the mind of the official responsible for collecting names at the time, I think it's probable that there is an older origin... Though it's impossible to be 100% definitive, the evidence points to another mix up here by the OS. If we look at maps that predate the OS survey, the situation is different.
For the detailed explanation of this with maps, please refer to the Placenames & Heritage part of my website at http://www.eastwestmapping.ie/placenames-heritage#p10 and scroll to the bottom. In summary, I think the evidence points to the hill labelled by the OS as Prince William's Seat should 'properly' be called Glencullen Mountain and the hill labelled by the OS as Knocknagun should be Cloghnagun with the name (Fitz)Williams Seat for the large granite tor there known as Cloch na gCon. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/351/comment/6213/

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The German Graveyard

Knocknagun rises on the north side of the Glencree Valley in Wicklow. and is distinguished by the large rock that sits near its summit. Travelling along the military road, the massive tor is highly visible on the otherwise featureless bog. However the hill also shelters a remarkably different piece of Irish history that is unique in all the land.

The western shoulder of Knocknagun sweeps down to meet the flank of Kippure above the hamlet of Glencree. This little settlement is home to the unique German Military Cemetery, which is situated in an old landscaped quarry. Under the exposed granite rock face sit several rows of crosses and plaques commemorating those German citizens who lost their lives in Ireland during World Wars I and II.

Although neutral, Ireland did not escape the effects of the military action during the wars. Several German military aircraft crashed here. These were due to poor weather, damage sustained over England, lack of fuel or navigational errors. Many German naval personnel were also found washed up around the country. In a sad twist of fate, the graveyard also contains the bodies of 46 German civilians who were being shipped from England to Canada for internment when their ship, the Arandora Star, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Tory Island in Donegal in 1940. The graveyard also contains 6 soldiers from the First World War. They died while prisoners in a British prisoner of war camp located in Ireland.

Dr. Hermann Gortz is also buried at Glencree. As a spy, Gortz parachuted into County Meath in 1940. His mission was to enlist the IRA’s assistance during a potential German invasion of Britain. He was eventually arrested in possession of files on possible military targets in Ireland, as well as information on "Plan Kathleen". This was an IRA plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland with the support of the German military. Görtz was interned until the end of the war. When he was paroled in 1947 he was informed he would be deported to Soviet Germany. Terrified, he swallowed a cyanide capsule. He was buried in a Dublin cemetery, and in 1974 his remains were transferred to Glencree

In total there are 134 Germans buried in the Cemetery. This includes 81 naval and air service men, of whom the identities of only fifty three are known. The Cemetery is situated next to a rushing stream, which provides an atmospheric backdrop to the aura of this solemn and peaceful place. So if you are unfamiliar with this area and you happen to be walking along Knocknagun why not take the time to visit this quiet little corner of Irish history. A poem by Stan O Brien says it all:

“It was for me to die
.
Under an Irish sky

There finding berth

Under good Irish earth.

What I dreamed and planned

Bound me to my Fatherland.

But War sent me

To sleep in Glencree.

Passion and pain

Were my loss-my gain:

Pray, as you pass

To make Good my loss”
Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/351/comment/6273/

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