Sparkey on Cragnamurragh

Cragnamurragh can also be accesses from various roads & paths. You can cross from Moylussa through very boggy & wet ground loosely following a bog road opened up by machinery or you can access it from behind the village of Broadford . From the village of Broadford … Look out for the East Clare way signposts just off the R465 Map 58 GR A (R567 743). Park the car here or follow the road up a couple of Kms .Follow the East Clare way through forestry until you can see a small "lough" to your left called Poulalougha .Here you will see the slope of Slieve Bearnagh on your left and before the path starts to fall away veer left and start climbing along a distinct path past a Megalithic tomb shown on Map 58 . Heading up towards through heather to Lough Avullig there is excellent views here of County Limerick & Co Clare ….From here and with the lake to your left …. veer off to the right across calf high heather towards Cragnamurragh & it's triangulation point Here you can decide to back track or optionally if you had a second car you could have parked either at Rinanna Point GR B (R688 760) …….The second optional car could be reached by walking back along the saddle to Moylussa and down again to rejoin the East Clare way ( Try to aim for the 200mts boggy track that runs parallel to the tree line at GR C (R657 756) as this is far easier than roaming across KM's of heather) Once back on the forest track it is a nice relaxing end to the walk through Ballycuggaran woods to Rinnanna Point …..OR ….. alternatively park your second car in Kilbane village and aim to drop down from the saddle between Cragnamurragh & Moylussa heading to a distinct track at Coumbrack GR D (R644 745) . About 30 minutes from the start of the track you will see gate where you can see Lackareagh with it’s Ariel above you to the left. Turn right here at the gate and walk the 3km + back to your car . Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/401/comment/1268/

Read Less

Stunning views from Craganamurragh

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much from Cragnamurragh. Comments regarding scars on the landscape and unrelenting bog put me in a rather negative frame of mind. In the event, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I came over from Moylussa, following the bog road/scar thing, and after our unusually dry winter and early spring it was almost completely dry. I can see how things would be different in the wet, though. The other thing that surprised me was how fantastic the views were. A broad sweep of the country was visible, from Dromineer and the northern half of Lough Derg, to Thomond Park and Limerick city, the Shannon Estuary and Moneypoint, all the way to the mountains of Kerry looming in the distance. Fantastic, and for this reason I suggested Cragnamurragh as a top 100 summit. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/401/comment/4641/

Read Less

Easy route using tracks

This approach first takes you over nearby Glennagalliagh. Considering the amount of comments commenting about the boggy nature of these hills, this route is quite straightforward and mostly along tracks. Starting at E (R63954 72575) on Map 58, follow the access track 1.5kms up to the summit of Glennagalliagh. (For information – it’s possible to drive to the summit in jeep type vehicles as turf cutting takes place there). From the summit look north down into the saddle below Glennagalliagh. A white track carved out of the bog should be visible. This track leads for 1km up to the col between Cragnamurragh and Moylussa.

There are single strand wire fences in the vicinity of the summit of Glennagalliagh. These could be electric, although I did not see signs to this effect. There are signs however stating ‘Please use the Gate’. This gate is just next to the summit. Pass through the gate and head NE down to a small track a couple of hundred metres away. Note that it is also easy to duck under the single strand fence. Aim for F (R63781 74261) where there is a gap in another potential electric fence giving access onto the white track leading up to Cragnamurragh. Follow this track and ascend 75 metres over 1km up to the col. From here turn left and follow a muddy, quadbike-churned track for about 1km to the trig pillar at the summit of Cragnamurragh at G (R62883 74950)

A local walker told me that many people believe that Cragnamurragh is the highest point of Clare because there is a trig pillar on Cragnamurragh while there is none on nearby Moylussa. He said that the highest point in the county would surely have this pillar? I pointed out that it had to do with the Ordnance Survey and lines of sight etc but I didn’t convince him!

csd has described the views nicely in his comment, so I can only echo that there is a great expanse to the range of the views from the summit. To return simply retrace your steps to the col and the track back over Glennagalliagh. There is also an option to extend the walk easily to Moylussa. As highlighted by others, there is a wide track leading from the col up to Moylussa 1.5kms away. This track ranges from dry and passable to waterlogged and scary. It’s just a case of walking on the heather next to the track at the dodgy bits. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/401/comment/5854/

Read Less

aburden on Cragnamurragh

Followed Sparkys directions - thanks
Very boggy, beautiful views it will take a while but I will go back... Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/401/comment/1642/

Read Less

madfrankie on Cragnamurragh

Approached from Moylussa with poor visibilty and unrelenting rain. Normally I would regard the wide boggy track running SE as a scar on the landscape, but today it was a useful guide, bringing us practically to the summit trig pillar.
I won't bore you with the details of our descent down the southern spur, involving as it did, awkward hummocky slopes, impenetrable foliage and an unnecessary 8 km roadwalk.
Very, very glad to get back to the car. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/401/comment/1944/

Read Less