Poor old Commedagh - bass player of the fab five, fronted by Donard and backed by the Bearnagh Sisters.
Dull to look at, heather to trail through, wind to cut you in half. In such wind you can of course open your mouth and do Wallace and Gromit faces - sure we make our own fun.
But …… who gives you baffling volcanic globulets? Binnian and Commedagh. Who gives you glorious views of Dundrum Bay? Donard and Commedagh. Who gives you the wickedest drops (from the track)? Cove and Commedagh. Is a pattern not emerging?
Nevertheless in most aspects one cannot underrate Commedagh enough. She is desperately dull to walk, has a thoroughly annoying incline on the Annalong side and thoroughly annoying terrain on the Newcastle side. She is neither bad enough nor good enough. But if you took her show-off neighbours out of the picture, would we not flock to her? Incidentally there are far too many sheep on her.
She stands a sound Corbett 2517 - every inch from sea level. With a bit of vis - sometimes uniquely absent from her peculiar, lonely top, you can see to just about wherever you like, Wicklow, Ellan Vannin, Scotland and worse: North Antrim.
Her pots, the Pots of Pulgarve, are sensational except to the odd unfortunate who occasionally steps out into their infinity: they present a breathtaking tableau of Eagle Rock, Dundrum Bay framed by her and Bro Donard and thousands of fag-smoking ants scurrying up and down the Glen River. And best of all she is one of only 2 spots in the Mournes expanse where you can see raven junior being taught to fly, the old “spare the rod” way. The other, I keep a guarded secret.
Contributor Craigie’s 2 car contortion is fine, but try also Glen River ascent from Newcastle’s Donard carpark with Beginner Book for Boys stroll on to Donard, back down on to The Saddle and up Commedagh. Follow the pots back down Commedagh’s spine into breathtaking vistas and exquisite Donard Wood and back into Donard carpark. Go to pub and enthuse about Commedagh …. endlessly. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/63/comment/1118/

I climbed this mountain yesterday as part of a circular walk which included Luke's Mountain, Slieve Corragh and Shanslieve. Starting off from Meelmore Lodge, we followed the lane up to the stile and headed towards the Trassey track. After a short while on this track we turned left and headed towards Luke's Mountain. The terrain is very marshy and pathless at times, and as such I would strongly recommend gaiters. This was my first time on Luke's Mountain; it offers very nice views of Slieve Croob, Murlough bay and Tollymore forest. Thereafter we headed alongside the valley between Corragh and Commedagh. The terrain is quite steep on the ascent of Corragh. After reaching the Mourne wall at Corragh we turned left and made our way to the summit of Commedagh. Cloud formations and gusts of wind produced a great atmosphere as mountains, previously covered in cloud, appeared gradually as the mist cleared. After a short break on Commedagh, we headed NW over the ridge between Commedagh and Shanslieve. This is a very good ridge walk in the Mournes, but one which I would not advise in poor visibility, as it is quite steep on both sides. Upon reaching Shanslieve, very fine views opened up of Newcastle, Murlough Bay, Bernagh, Corragh, Slievenaglogh and Meelmore. The descent towards the valley is very steep and walking poles are an advantage. Care must be taken when crossing the river towards Luke's mountain. The full walk took 7 hours, but one which I would recommend - tollymore forest, ridge walk between Commedagh and Shanslieve and the views from Shanslieve - being the notable highlights. This was the first time I had climbed Commedagh from Meelmore Lodge; other possible approaches would be Trassey track up to Hare's Gap and follow the wall over Slievenaglogh and Corragh, and Donard Car park to the saddle and turn left at the wall. Another option would be starting at Donard park, ascending Shanslieve and turning left towards the summit. While all four approaches are viable, I think the best approach is starting from Meelmore Lodge or Trassey. The views of Tullymore forest and from the Mourne wall at Corragh are more interesting than the valley between Donard and Commedagh. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/63/comment/6156/