Knockfierna is a lovely little hill, easily accessible and with great views, as well as plenty of historical and folklore interest. Its well located in the centre of county Limerick and is close to both the N20 Limerick-Cork road and the N21 Limerick-Kerry road, so a good diversion if you happen to be passing nearby with a couple of hours to spare. I randomly found a description of a route up from the village of Ballingarry online (http://www.barnalick.com/PDF/Knockfierna.pdf), so I decided to investigate on the way home from a couple of days spent on Mweelrae and the Twelve Bens.

There's plenty of parking around Ballingarry, such as by the town park at R4140 3626 F. Head up through the town and along the R518 Kilmallock road. Turn left off this road soon after leaving the town, at R4194 3567 C, opposite a right turn and a 'welcome to Ballingarry' sign, over a stone stile, up a gated track. When you come to a new cowshed in front of you, take the track to the right and follow this up past a few gates until you join up with a track, known as 'The Red Road' coming up from the right. You could also follow this track up from the main road, but it would require an extra bit of unnecessary road walking. This track will take you all the way to the summit, along a broad, gorse covered ridge, passing a number of thatched cottages, mostly in ruins, and a famine memorial stone along the way. When you pass through a gate just before the summit 'pinnacle', take a right turn and you're on the summit in no time.

The summit is capped with limestone and has an aerial, trig point, large cross and the remains of a large ancient cairn. The main attraction though is the views, which are brilliant considering the height of the hill - most of county Limerick is spread out before you and views further afield stretch from Mangerton in the west (the rest of Kerry is blocked out by the Mullagherierks), across the Derrynasaggart, Boggeraghs, Nagles, Ballyhouras, Knockmealdowns and Galtees, all the way to Slievenamon faint on the eastern horizon. To the northeast, Keeper Hill and the Slieve Felim rise up, while Tountinna and the Slieve Bearnagh stand beyond Limerick city. The Burren Hills are visible to the northwest, stretching across to the solitary peak of Slievecallan in SW Clare, above the Shannon Estuary. All in all, well worth the modest climb. Once you've soaked up the views, retrace your steps the 4km back to Ballingarry. If you're short on time, it should also be possible to park around R4520 3560 E and follow a track up, joining up with the route from Ballingarry near the summit. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/965/comment/4649/