The most famous summit in the SW?

Right up there anyway, though perhaps only amongst a certain generation. And I say that conscious of Carrauntoohil's height and Brandon's pilgrimage. I think I made this comment to Simon last weekend as we were on its slopes and as it amused him, so it may amuse you to know of its fame. Before I ever picked up a geography book in national school and learned about mountains I was a fan of the tv. Its been a long running affair, if anything it has deepened over the years. Anyway, as a child in the mid to late 70s, we had the grand total of 2 channels on a black and white telly. And we and all of my age lived in the fear of that dreaded message that regularly flashed up on our screens..."we apologise, there is a problem with our transmitter at Mullaghanish...". So when I say most famous summit in the SW, I mean amongst the people of the SW. It was almost like a mantra, everyone knew of this summit, it was pointed out to every wide eyed kid as the family drove over the county bounds between Cork and Kerry, it was a marvel of engineering and technology to us all, almost up there with Kerry Airport and the Dursey Cable Car.

Anyway, some facts lifted from www.irish-tv.com...

Because of the mountainous nature of the area served, it has the highest amount of relays for an Irish transmitter. That site says this is a "dubious honour"...I have to concede I don't actually know what this means!

It transmitted RTE's first attempt at regional television, in the early 1970s, with the programme Munster Matters. This was produced in Dublin and transmitted after RTE shut down at night, when Mullaghanish was the only transmitter that stayed on. The experiment failed, and so RTE stopped regional programming for decades afterwards.

It was one of the 5 original Teilifis Eireann transmitters, opening in 1962. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/199/comment/6675/

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Coordinate errors

An alternate route to the RTE access road: After turning off the N22, follow the small blue signs directing you to Mullaghanish. Drive about 2.5 km past the tower road, and park at a forest access area facing south ( Kn'ulane (W224 804), it doesn't look like it reaches the road, but it's there). Head north with the forest to your right and a fence to your left. There isn't a trail marked, but it's pretty easy going over slightly mucky grassland. Take this up to Carrigrathduff, then head straight for the peak over more heathery terrain. You will need to hop a fence or two. Heading for Mullaghanish, you'll run into a tall barbed wire fence. To avoid it, follow the fence NE for a couple of minutes, and a gate appears. You can go through here and get to the peak. The best way back down, unfortunately, is to retrace your steps. The aesthetic value of this mountain would be poor even if the transmitter wasn't there, but the views of the Paps and the surrounding valleys are great on a nice day.

The OSI map shows another trail heading north towards the top from the road at A (W221 807), but it's very muddy and is clearly a private road. I'd avoid it if possible. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/199/comment/1720/

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mart on Mullaghanish

You can climb this mountain on the road that leads up to the RTE transmitter on the summit. The mountain is big and round and I don't know of any good reason for taking a different route. The summit route is found from a minor road that runs from Ballyvourney to the Macroom-Millstreet road at about 1400ft so the climb isn't too far. The view should be extensive on a good day. The summit stands on the Cork-Kerry border and looks down to the Blackwater, Clydagh and Lee valleys Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/199/comment/1406/

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Snow always makes a hike better.

This mountain provides a great opportunity to get to a height of 640 meters for very little effort. The enterance to the access road mentioned by three5four0 is at 260 meters so there is actually less than 400 metres of height to climb and the winding road makes this very easy. Lovely views for such little effort. The snow on top the day I did this added to the walk, as snow always does. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/199/comment/20174/

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paulocon on Mullaghanish

Took a walk up the access road to the summit of Mullagnahish with the young'uns while on holidays last week. The mountain (or a route of some sort) is signposted from Ballyvourney (take the road on the Killarney end of the village) but isn't signposted from then on so follow the cycle-route signs and you'll find the way. Grand walk from the locked gate but unfortunately the summit is literally a hard-hat area as it's currently a pretty messy-looking building site. Good views across to the Paps on the ascent but unfortunately by the time we had reached the top, a thick mist had come across. Not much to recommend but one of the easier 'Dillon' summits. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/199/comment/4015/

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