Binn Chaonaigh (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for "peak of the moss") is one of the

Maumturk Mountains , photo=View south to Knocknahillion from Letterbreckaun.jpg , photo_caption= Maumturk Mountains: looking south from Letterbreckaun towards Knocknahillion and Binn idir an dá Log. , country=Republic of Ireland , region = Connacht , region_t ...

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the fourth-highest of the Maumturks, the 185th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 223rd-highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, It is in the middle sector of the long north-west to south-east spine of the Maumturks.

Geography

Binn Chaonaigh lies on a small

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

between Binn idir an dá Log to the northwest, the highest peak in the range at , and the large mountain pass of Maumeen or Maumean ( ga, Máméan meaning "pass of the birds"), that cuts deep across the southern sector of the Maumturks range. To the immediate northeast of Binn Chaonaigh, at the end of a long rocky spur, lies the subsidiary peak of Binn Mhairg (meaning "peak of woe") at . Binn Mharig's

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of qualifies it as a Vandeleur-Lynam, however its location off the main central ridge of the Maumturks range, mean that it is a less frequented peak. On the southern side of the pass of Máméan, lies Binn Mhór, which at is the 3rd-highest peak in the Maumturks range.

Máméan Pilgrimage

The pass of Máméan at the base of Binn Chaonaigh has been a site of

Christian pilgrimage Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative (especially in the Holy Land) and to sites associated with later saints or miracles. History Christian pilgrimages were first made to sit ...

dedicated to Saint Patrick that goes back to the 5th-century, and before that date, to the pagan festivals of

Lughnasadh Lughnasadh or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Modern Irish it is called , in gd, Lùnastal, and in gv, ...

. The pilgrimage fell into disrepute in the 19th-century due to local faction-fighting and

poitín Poitín (), anglicized as poteen () or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the ...

drinking at the events, and by the mid-1900s had almost died out completely. In 1979, Fr. Micheál MacGréil led the revival of the annual pilgrimage and development of the site. A pilgrimage now takes place three times a year on

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

, Good Friday, and the first Sunday in August. The site contains a holy well, a cleft in the rock dug into Binn Chaonaigh known as Saint Patrick's Bed ( ga, Leaba Phádraig) where the Saint reputedly slept, a circle of stones for the Stations of the Cross, and a Mass Rock ( ga, Carraig an Aifrinn), which was used during the 18th-century in penal times when Catholicism was outlawed in Ireland. Fr. MacGréil oversaw the building of a small chapel ( ga, Cillín Phádraig) on the site in the 1980s, and in 1986, sculpturer Cliodhna Cussen added a statue of Saint Patrick depicted as a shepherd with a sheep at his feet. The Irish folklorist and translator

Máire MacNeill Máire MacNeill (7 December 1904 – 15 May 1987) was an Irish journalist, folklorist and translator. She is best known for her magisterial study of the Irish harvest festival, ''The Festival of Lughnasa'' (1962, 1983). Biography She was ...

, chronicled various stories of Saint Patrick's arrival at Máméan in 441 AD, and his fights to banish the pagan deity of

Crom Dubh Crom Dubh (, ; meaning "black crooked ne; also ''Crum Dubh'', ''Dark Crom'') is a mythological and folkloric figure of Ireland, based on the god ''Crom Cruach'', mentioned in the 12th-century ''dinnseanchas'' of Magh Slécht. Folklore Conf ...

, several of which involve Crom taking the form of a bull which ends up being drowned in the lake at Máméan.

Hill walking

The most straightforward way summit Binn Chaonaigh is a 6-kilometre 2-3-hour round-trip via the pass of Maumean; however, because of its positioning on the high rocky central spine of the central Maumturk range, it is also summited in a longer 13-kilometre 5-6 hour loop-route starting at the col of Maumeen and climbing Binn Chaonaigh and then onto the top of Binn idir an dá Log, before descending via Maumahoge, and walking back to Maumeen. Binn Chaonaigh is also climbed as part of the ''Maamturks Challenge'', a 25-kilometre 10–12 hour walk over the full Maumturks range (from

Maam Cross Maam Cross () is a crossroads in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Shindilla, at the junction of the N59 from Galway to Clifden and the R336 from Galway to the Maam Valley Gleann an Mháma (English languag ...

Leenaun Leenaun (), also Leenane, is a village and 1,845 acre townland in County Galway, Ireland, on the southern shore of Killary Harbour and the northern edge of Connemara. Location Leenaun is situated on the junction of the N59 road, and the R336 ...

), which is considered one of the "great classic ridge-walks of Ireland", but of "extreme grade" due to the circa 7,600 feet of total ascent. Since 1975, the

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

Mountaineering Club, has run the annual "Maamturks Challenge Walk" (MCW), and man a checkpoint on either side of Binn Chaonaigh; one at Maumeen, and another at Binn idir an dá Log (the summit of Binn idir dá Log marks 54% of MCW climbing completed).

Bibliography

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References

External links

The Maamturks Challenge
University College Galway Mountaineering Club
The Maamturks Challenge: Routecard (2015)MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website
Binn Chaonaigh

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DoBIH The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attemp ...

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