Falcon's Crest

I climbed Bengorm on a clear, sunny day in May as a way of reaching the higher target of Corranabinnia. During the whole walk of 6.5 hours, my only human encounters were on the lower slopes of the mountain: a man working turf near the spot where I parked in Glendahurk and two ladies finishing their climb of Bengorm around midday as I was just 20 minutes into my walk. For the rest of the day I was entirely on my own, which seems to be common in these remote hills of the Nephin Beg Range. After heading east on a track climbing gently out of Glendahurk, I turned north towards Bengorm on a path through the turf cuttings in the townland of Oghilees.

Apparently this part of the range, the hills immediately north of the Newport to Mulranny road (N59) are known locally as the Oghilees Mountains according to Fiachra Mac Gabhann's Logainmneacha Mhaigh Eo. I thought the path would fizzle out as I left the turf cuttings behind, but it was more distinct than expected and was waymarked with posts pointing towards a mass rock. Alone? Well, not quite. There was a congregation of sorts at the mass rock, a small flock of sheep, which all dispersed and fled as I arrived but for one. I thought it might be injured or trapped between boulders, but it did eventually stir and seemed fine. The mass rock had a stone altar and was in good condition, so it seems to be visited regularly. Further up the ridge, around the 380m mark where it levels off briefly, I had another encounter.

I became aware of a bird of prey circling nearby and calling in alarm. It didn't take long to realise that the danger which it was trying to warn off was myself. I couldn't identify it exactly at the time, but I noticed that the wings were bent like an elbow so that the wing-tips were swept back at almost 45 degrees. I found out later that this is typical of the silhouette of a peregrine falcon. I stopped briefly to video it with my phone, though the video was more useful as a sound record of the call than for the visuals, as the bird appeared as a mere speck. However, I was able to identify this later as the alarm call of a peregrine falcon. I was a good 50 metres away from the edge on the Glennamong (E) side, but obviously close enough to its nest to be treated as a threat. Not wanting to cause the bird undue distress, I moved on as fast as was feasible on the steepish ground. I reached the summit of Bengorm in just under 2 hours and after a brief break continued to Corranabinnia. Magnificent views into Glennamong (the valley), E to Buckoogh and S to Clew Bay. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/309/comment/23565/

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What lies beneath

7000 BC and Stone Age people arrived in Ireland. They mainly ate berries, fruit, and wild animals and moved from place to place. Circa 4000 BC they started clearing the land and began building stone structures. We are familiar with elaborate buildings such as Newgrange (3000 BC) & Carrowkeel (3400 BC). But they were performing complex and involved funeral ceremonies long before this.

In 2016 local farmer Michael Chambers was observing a fox on Ben Gorm. As an avid hillwalker and member of the Nephin Begars hillwalking club he was very familiar with the area. He noticed the fox disappear among the rocks on Ben Gorm’s east slope. He went up to investigate. He discovered a previously unknown cave system under the rocks. He summoned some Nephin Begar comrades and they explored the cave. It involved squirming & tight manoeuvring that would leave any claustrophobic person in a panic. They persevered and discovered, deep within the bowels of the cave, ancient human remains. They contacted the Gardai. Subsequently the National Monuments Service, with the National Museum of Ireland, commissioned an excavation, carried out by Dr Marion Dowd of IT Sligo.

In January 2018 the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht confirmed that the remains belonged to 10 individuals and were placed there over a 1200 year period from 3600 to 2400 BC. This was most likely an excoriation site – a place where remains were left to decompose before most of the bones were recovered for burial elsewhere.

It is a humble reminder that, as we tramp our merry way up and down the hills and valleys of Ireland, we are only the latest in a long succession of humans to explore and connect with the landscape. Anyone hiking on Ben Gorm before 2016 would not have known what lay in a chamber beneath their feet.

Brannen’s pub and B & B in Newport Co. Mayo is the home of the Nephin Begars hillwalking club. The proprietor is John Chambers – cousin of Michael Chambers who initially discovered the cave. John was one of the party to make the initial exploration of the cave when they discovered the human remains. As a fellow hill enthusiast John was very willing to discuss the experience and show his photos – an opportunity surely not to be missed. What better than to get a firsthand account of this remarkable discovery and be able to engage in an in-depth discussion about the local hills?

Hillwalkers are perhaps best placed to continue to discover such Stone Age burial sites and/or megalithic art as we explore all corners of the land. I’ll leave the last word to Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, who in January 2018 praised the local hillwalker for reporting his find.
“This is a fascinating archaeological discovery and I want to thank the community of hillwalkers for reporting it to us. Such vigilance is extremely important to us in helping to protect and understand our archaeological heritage” Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/309/comment/19888/

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gerrym on Bengorm

The ridge from Corranabinia to Ben Gorm beckoned to me on my way up the other side of the valley ,climbing Glennamong, and my eyes were drawn time and again to its curves and undulations. It reminded me of my favourite walk in the Mornes - from Beg over Cove, Lamagan and then Binnian. From the summit of Corranabinnia there is a drop of 1000 ft to the col before the climb to Ben Gorm.

As can be seen from the pic there is a steep initial drop and then a roller coaster of rises and falls, over a mixture of rocky and wet ground. The Glennamong and Glendahurk river valleys sit either side and both are heavily forested and pretty wet. The ground drops steeply into both valleys and offers great views as drop along the ridge. It is a steep enough pull of 600ft up to the cairn at the top of Ben Gorm, especially after a few hours walking, although the ground is good. There are again fantastic views from the summit, most notably over Clew Bay to a mist shrouded Croagh Patrick. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/309/comment/1919/

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simon3 on Bengorm

Bengorm has been the only 500m summit I have yet encountered which I couldn’t reach. Not because it is an Inaccessible Pinnacle or even because of forbidding landowners. No, as of August 2003, the summit cairn has been taken over by a nest of wasps, something you become very aware of as you stop moving to take photos.

Anyway, looking beyond the wasps the picture shows Croagh Patrick across the many islands of Clew Bay. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/309/comment/619/

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gerrym on Bengorm

(part 2) From the summit the ridge continues for another few kms, dropping down to the S end of Lough Feeagh. I took a more direct descent to the E down into the Glennamong river valley from near the summit. This was pretty steep over wet ground and was a mixture of running, slipping and sliding and putting legs into holes - not recommended unless you are in a hurry. I made for the S boundary of the forest and followed the stream down to the river, over some very wet ground. The Glennamong river can be crossed at a bridge which is presumably part of the forestry operations. It is then a walk of over 5 km on forestry road and then quiet lanes,over the Srahmore river and back up into Letterkeen Wood where I had parked the day before. I camped down at the spot near to the bothy as mentioned in the comment for Glennamong - a cracking spot beside the river and plenty of wood to make a good fire. A fantastic horseshoe walk of over 20 km through some beautiful and remote hills with total solitude for company. I will be back. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/309/comment/1920/

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