Following on from various comments about approaches to Slieve Carr (Simon3, bryanmcabe, Feargalh), I opted for an approach from the East. Parking at the entrance to the forest at F 96779 16183 B, which I don't recommend as it is in private property - I know this because a note was left on my windscreen telling me not to park here. I then cycled the Western Way to point F 94773 12498 C, aiming for the exit from the forest marked J, taking around 50 minutes to get here. The Western Way section is very easy to cycle using a mountain bike - in fact, I could have driven it! The section up to J is tougher but worth the effort for the cycle back down at the end of the day. As an aside, there is a very good shelter here, the Altnabrocky Hut, - see photo, for those planning an overnight.
From the exit of the forest, I then headed across the saddle to climb Nephin Beg, 60 - 70 kph winds with driving rain and sleet showers pushing me up the hill and I was in full winter gear at this point (so important to check the weather forecasts in the days before a trip like this). Back the same way then to cross the saddle to begin the climb up Corrslieve. At least for this steep climb I had the advantage of some shelter from the wind, however as I approached the plateau, another squall came in, snow this time, and I enjoyed a second lunch while it blew through. Up onto the plateau then and into the wind. It's a gently sloping climb to the summit and I was a bit surprised at how emotional I felt reaching this summit... I had been climbing this mountain in my mind for years!
I met two other people on the summit who were making their way, via Slieve Carr, to the shelter I passed earlier and as they returned to the col to pick up their rucsacs, I headed for the SE ridge, D. Back at my bike, I had my final lunch before a very fast descent back to the car. i have uploaded a track for this, however, as I didn't change the settings between cycling and walking, the details look a bit strange!
Round trip is 27k and took me 7h15m. Highly recommended! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/18009/