Croaghnamaddy, Cruach na Madadh 252m hill, Donegal North W: Horn Head Ireland at MountainViews.ie

Longitude: -7.954957, Latitude: 55.209269 , Easting: 202916, Northing: 440248 Prominence: 247m, Isolation: 6.9km, Has trig pillar
ITM: 602866 940228, GPS IDs, 6 char: Crg252, 10 char: Crghnmdy
Bedrock type: Hornblendic and sometimes schistose, (Metadolerite)

The highest point on Horn Head. The Metrical Dindsenchas contains a reference to Sliab Irguill, which the editor Edward Gwynn identifies with Horn Head, so it be an old name for Croaghnamaddy or may have referred to all the upland on Horn Head. For origin of name, see Ganiamore re the name Sliab Guill. There is another Croaghnamaddy SW of Dungloe. Croaghnamaddy is the third highest hill in the Donegal North area and the 1280th highest in Ireland. Croaghnamaddy is the most westerly summit in the Donegal North area.
Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/

Visit for the Views.

Short Summary created by jackill 5 Sep 2014

Park on the roadside at C02681 40572 star

A , room for 4-5 cars.
Walk to C02784 40454 star

B heading uphill and south away from the road to the trig point that marks the summit. 10-15 minutes each way is more than enough time. A great viewpoint for the Donegal coast and the mountains to the south. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/comment/5758/

Angry farmer

by wintersmick 15 Sep 2020

I visited this peak today with a friend and some of our children. An angry man claiming to be the owner followed us up and stated the land was private with no public access.
[ Admin note. There has been an ongoing access issue in this area. We understand from MI that the Donegal Rural Recreation Officer has tried unsuccessfully to deal with this. Be aware that in these days when we can see the start of the global environmental disaster, that this area is a part of Hord Head where it would be better not to increase access as there are nesting seabirds below the road.] Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/comment/20837/

MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Croaghnamaddy (<i>Cruach na Madadh</i>) in area Donegal North, Ireland

Picture: The trig pillar on the summit of Croaghnamaddy

slemish on Croaghnamaddy, 2009

by slemish 7 Nov 2009

I had never climbed Croaghnamaddy before today but after reading three5four0's comment and since I was in Donegal this weekend anyway I thought I would bag it. It really is just a short climb from the car park up to the 252m summit. The trig pillar was in excellent condition considering the weather it has to endure up here. The beauty of Donegal is that although there are very high mountains, sometimes the lower peaks are better positioned for views. So it is with Croaghnamaddy - the sheer Horn Head cliffs to the north are interesting enough, but to the west lies Tory island and Bloody Foreland. To the south, a fabulous almost side-on view of the high Derryveagh ridge from Muckish to Errigal. Loughsalt Mountain to the south-east and round to Ganiamore and Crocknasleigh in the east, with the Inishowen hills in the distance. Do check out the cliffs if visiting here though as they really are spectacular. An easy walk - you can be up and down in 20 minutes. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/comment/4259/

Small hill, big views!

by Geo 17 Sep 2013

Parked at C0141440890 star

C almost at the end of the road, and as far as you can drive north. After a quick run up to the ruin, where there are superb views out over the Horn head, we walked back down the road to the junction at C0194940042 star

D and turned left. When past the viewpoint further on I took a right turn off the road at C0282840446 star

E and 5 minutes took me uphill to the trig at C0291840248 star

F . The short last bit was over heathery bog which was very solid considering the several previous day's rain. Back to the car and round trip of 5.4km and a few minutes over an hour. Leave more time if you can as there are loads of photo op's andthe option of a walk out to the headland which we didn't have time for. Super spot. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/comment/15184/

Picture: Looking at the Rosguill Peninsula from the trig pillar.

Unplanned Summit

by Aidy 6 Jul 2014

I was out for an aimless drive with the family when I spotted the trig pillar on top of this hill and talked them into taking the short walk to the summit. I had followed the signs for Horn Head from Dunfanaghy, and shortly after seeing another sign saying Horn Head 150m, we parked at a small lay by with great views of the Head. From there I could clearly see the trig pillar, and as we were already on high ground, it was an easy ascent to the summit. As you can imagine, in this part of Donegal, you are very well rewarded for very little effort as the views are magnificent. I would recommend walking around as much of Horn Head as you can as the summit is only part of the attraction here - the cliff top views further to the west are also breathtaking. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/comment/17532/

Picture: Rewarding views !!

360° vista over N Donegal !!

by David-Guenot 20 May 2016

Here are what the views are like on a good day. Looking S over Dunfanaghy and Muckish & co., from the junction of two fences, just a few meters from the summit trig. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/999/comment/18535/

COMMENTS for Croaghnamaddy (Cruach na Madadh)

(End of comment section for Croaghnamaddy (Cruach na Madadh).)

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		Some mapping: Open Street Map (Various variations used.)	British summit data courtesy: Database of British & Irish Hills (Creative Commons Licence)
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