Our first approach to a mountain is often through its name, but Glendoo isn’t the most transparent in that regard. If it is derived from An Gleann Dubh, to what valley does it refer? Glencullen, with its sombre gap to the north, is perhaps a better candidate than bright Glencree on the other side, but that still does nothing to typify the mountain in itself. Duncan's Map of County Dublin (1820) calls it "Garrydow", which sounds like nothing more than a variation on the theme of Glendoo. An alternative name that is also mentioned in MV, “Log na hEala” (The Hollow of the Swan), seems to take a stab in the direction of the absurd, however. What self-respecting swan would ever sully its feathers on the peaty top of Glendoo? Curiously, that master of the absurd, Samuel Beckett, gives a description in one of his stories that comes closer to reality, when he writes of “the slopes of Glendoo, mottled like a leopard”. Seen from a distance, the patchwork of black peat and withered marsh grass that covers the hill in autumn and winter does have a spotty, tawny, slinky, feline appearance.
There’s no cairn on the broad, flat top of Glendoo, so where do you place the exact summit point? Standing on the perkiest tuft of grass I could find, I recorded it as
C (O1418 2043), but it could have been anywhere else within a radius of 100m or more. Besides the remarkably good views from the top, the one curiosity that always stands out is the triangle of the Sugar Loaf to the south, peering over the shoulder of Prince William’s Seat. Although it’s 85m lower than Glendoo, it looks a good deal higher – just another of those orographic optical illusions, like streams that flow uphill.
My own favourite approach to Glendoo is along the ridge from Prince William’s Seat and Knocknagun, having climbed up from Curtlestown Wood. You need a rock-hard, frosty morning to enjoy it, though, since all the hollows are full of spongy sphagnum and the trail is normally mired with sticky black peat. The photo is from the top of Glendoo, looking northwards to Kippure on one such day. The rainbow, bottom right, is just lens flare, courtesy of the slanting winter sun.
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