There are other mountains which have dominant positions over lakes giving great views, such as Torc Mountain over the Lakes of Killarney or Slieve Gallion over Lough Neagh, but Tountinna has something rarer: a panoramic view in which a single lake occupies more than 180 degrees. Lough Derg literally insinuates itself around this mountain. Like a few other members, I turned off the motorway to break my journey from Kerry back to Belfast and spent just over an hour climbing Tountinna. I parked at R73439 76446 B and climbed the access road, which slowly winds around the mountain to the summit. It was a clear day in January, so visibility was good and you could see almost the entire surface of Lough Derg stretching away both north and south. It's no wonder, then, that the waters of the Lough also feature in the folklore of Tountinna, accounting for its unusual name. According to the Book of Invasions, a great wave arose on the Shannon as part of the biblical Flood. A seer named Fionntan mac Bochra went to ground on Tul Toinne (the earlier Irish name) and was the only inhabitant of Ireland not to be drowned. He lived to a great age and told the tale of surviving this flood in a poem, generations later. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/596/comment/23400/