Mother Mountain by The Lord SummerIsle Route

Folk horror movies follow a similar pattern. Our hero arrives at a wonderfully fertile valley bursting with flowers and fruits, he is naïve but on some sort of quest. So it was with me, on the hottest day of the year I arrived in Kilcommon after midday, determined to obtain Mauherslieve for my list of Arderins. I parked in the protective shadow of the local church and prayer garden. The village being strangely deserted except for a shambling old man wearing religious medals who side-eyed me as he mumbled along. As I put on my boots, another old fellow shouted “Hello!” from behind a nearby wall. “I’m off to climb Mauherslieve” I said. “I hope the Mother gives you a breeze” he said back. I was startled by this frankly weird statement. At any moment I expected Christopher Lee to appear as Lord SummerIsle and invite me to his castle: “I boast the finest collection of folklore this side of Maynooth. Indeed the good fathers would be astonished by my copy of Malleus maleficarum” I looked up, the old man had gone and Lord SummerIsle hadn’t appeared. Essentially, I reversed the end of the pilgrim route, walking N uphill to reach a stile before a modern grey house. Having crossed the river, the walk was hot and heady with the scent of flowers and abundant bright yellow Tormentil, used in folk remedies across Europe since early times. I stopped at the mass rock with its fine view across the valley. I was in a clearing surrounded by white hawthorn. This being early June, the hedges and bushes were in full bloom.
I pushed on through open ground, then forest where the cool shade was a welcome respite from a baking sun. The bogland was bone dry and the ground hard as concrete. Higher again, I left the butterflies and bees to take the summit spur. A marker said “2h return” which proved conservative (1h20). As with most folk horror stories, a problem arose. My old Achilles injury began to trouble me, and I slowed down considerably. Nevertheless, I reached the summit 40 minutes after the turnoff. The summit has a chambered cairn oriented to the North, and it was here that the wandering sons of Mil, met the goddess Fodhla. In contrast, I had the summit of Mother mountain to myself with views to Keeper hill, and the Galtees. I hobbled back down to the pilgrim path and then down. In the horror movie this would be the point where a beautiful local would tend to my ankle with her mystical enchantments. No doubt the smell of silage and clouds of insects were discouraging the fair folk of Tipperary from doing the same- I made my own way down. I took a short detour before the river, to see a large standing stone in a neat Hawthorn grove, before returning to the car. I fed the village dog as I got the boots off. A fine day, full of scents and flowers and ancient sacred spaces. It had taken a leisurely 3.5h, but allow another 30 mins for photos, invocations to Pan or any ritual sacrifices you deem necessary. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/368/comment/23981/

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Hazy views, low summits and windmills.

On a warm August day this was the view south from Mauherslieve. The Galtys dominate the far skyline with nearer hills of Tooreen, Gortnageragh and Knockastanna in the mid ground.
Although innocuous looking the blanket bog surrounding the top and trig pillar is very difficult to walk quickly through. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/368/comment/20593/

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csd on Mauherslieve

Poor neglected Mauherslieve! Its out-of-the-way nature is part of its charm, the dog and I spent the afternoon without seeing another human soul, though we did spot a rabbit and two deer. We parked by a livestock pen at Kn'Teig (R880 638) (there's room for a couple of cars), and then followed the track marked in sheet 59 through the forest as far as D (R869 626). Here the clear felling starts, so we turned left and made our way up to the summit without having to push through the dense pine.
The summit trig pillar appears to have been constructed on the ruins of an ancient cairn, a collapsed part of which forms a shelter from the wind. Nice views over to Keeper Hill and surrounding hills. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/368/comment/2646/

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Nice views, solitude and spirituality

Climbed this mountain during the week by taking a spur from the Kilcommon Pilgrim Loop, a way marked walking route that starts in Kilcommon village. I was surprised that the route to the summit was way marked for most of the way up. It ascends through forestry along a narrow trail before emerging onto boggy ground with a thin covering of small trees. Underfoot conditions are poor and the path is not distinct. The last few hundred metres is up through blanket bog. The summit itself is a low and pretty featureless dome shape but there is an interesting prehistoric cairn. At 530 metres, Mauherslieve has fine views in all directions. The mountain has mythical associations with ancient Celtic deities and thefestival of Lughnasa. Overall, not a huge challenge but rewarding views make it worthwhile. It is also very much off the beaten track so there is every chance you will have the place to yourself Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/368/comment/19588/

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Mother of God!!

What can I say about Mauherslieve? It really is one of those mountains that will have you asking yourself "What am I doing? Started out at the livestock pen mentioned by csd. It is important to note that the first 200 metres between the pen and the forestry entrance at E (R87768 63721) goes through private farmland and while there is a road it's not fenced off and the day I went there were bullocks running around the field. Stay to the right on the forestry track and take the left track at F (R87467 63500). Follow this track for about a kilometer. You will see Mauherslieve on your left, keep an eye out for a break in the trees and that is the route to take.

There is a gap in the ditch at G (R86945 62605), and this is where the real fun/ordeal begins. From here you will have to cross 100 metres of the worst ground with felled trees, stumps, holes, pools of water, heather, tussocky grass and newly planted tress. I assume once these get a bit bigger this route will not be an option. Once you get to the break in the tress the underfoot does not improve much but with a bit of hard work you will soon be on the open mountain. There is a 500 meters of heathery boggy ground to contend with here before you reach the trig point at the summit. The day I climbed here, the open mountain was covered in fog so I can't comment on any views, but I will NOT be going back on a fine day to see them.

Purely for hardened summiteers, if you insist on doing this one, look for a better way up! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/368/comment/20209/

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