Cullahill Mountain () is listed as a marilyn hill and a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Cullahill with an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of gives its name to the local townland. It is also called Knockmannon Hill. Cullahill Mountain takes its name from an ancient forest that covered the hill and extended down to

Cullahill Castle Cullahill Castle was the principal stronghold of the MacGillapatricks of Upper Ossory built around 1425 and destroyed around 1650. Cullahill Castle takes its name from an ancient forest that covered Cullahill Mountain and extended down to Culla ...

and village of

Cullahill Cullahill or Cullohill () is a small village situated on the R639 road in County Laois, Ireland. Cullahill takes its name from an ancient forest that covered Cullahill Mountain and extended down to Cullahill Castle. History A priory of August ...

. The first mention of the area was about 1460 where it was called "''na Cúlchailli''" and later in 1540 it was called "''Cowlekyll''". Cullahill Mountain contains a walking trail. There is population of rare

Green-winged Orchid ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid ( synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East. Description It f ...

and on the downslope there is an

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

woodland. It is situated on the

Castlecomer Plateau The Castlecomer Plateau, or 'South Leinster Coalfield', is an upland area in the North of County Kilkenny, Ireland, extending into County Laois and County Carlow at its northern edge. The plateau is bounded on the east and south by the R44 ...

, along the main N8 road between Durrow in County Laois and Johnstown in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

Geography

County Laois consists of a central plain, surrounded by a number of upland areas including the

Slieve Bloom Mountains The Slieve Bloom Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Bladhma; la, Bladinae montes) is a mountain range in Ireland. They rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards. The high ...

in the northwest, ''Killeshin Plateau'' in the south east and Cullahill Mountain in the south. Cullahill Mountain lies on a western side of the

. It forms the northern boundary to the valley running from

Ballyragget Ballyragget () is a small town on the river Nore in the north of County Kilkenny in Ireland. Ballyragget is on the N77 north of Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census, it had a population of 1,082 people. Toponymy The name 'Ragget' is Anglo-Norm ...

to Freshford.() The location is off the M8 motorway, 15 km north-east of

Urlingford Urlingford () is a town, as well as a civil parish within the barony of Galmoy. It is located in the north west of County Kilkenny, along the boundary with County Tipperary, in Leinster, Ireland. Access The town lies on the R639. The M8 motorwa ...

and

Johnstown, County Kilkenny Johnstown (), historically known as Coorthafooka ( gle, Cúirt an Phúca), is a small town in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Bypassed in December 2008 by the M8, the town lies at the junction of the R639, the R502 and the R435 regional roads. It ...

, or south-west from

Durrow, County Laois Durrow (, formerly ''Darmhagh Ua nDuach'') is a village located in south-east County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M8 motorway on 28 May 2010, the village is located on the R639 road at its junction with the N77. The River Erkina flows thr ...

along the

R639 road The R639 road is one of Ireland's regional roads. Once designated the N8 national primary road (and before that some fractions were designated as the T6 and others as the T9), it was reclassified in stages as the R639 following the progress ...

. Cullahill Mountain is listed as

under the European Union

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

. The site has a large population of

which is a rare species that is legally protected under the Irish governments ''Flora Protection Order (1987)''. The orchid flora of the grassland is notably rich, with Twayblade,

Frog Orchid ''Coeloglossum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It has long been considered to have only one species, ''Coeloglossum viride'', the frog orchid. Some recent classifications regard ''Coeloglossum'' as part of the ...

Bee Orchid Bee orchid is a common name for several orchids and may refer to: *'' Cottonia peduncularis'', a species of orchid from India and Sri Lanka *'' Diuris carinata'', a species of orchid from the south-west of Western Australia *'' Ida barringtoniae'', ...

Early-purple Orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

and

. The west side of site extends downslope to an

and

woodland. Most of vegetation at the site is herb-rich grassland over

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. With about 5 grass species, 2 sedges and 20 broad-leaved herbs and allows a rich insect fauna to maintain itself. Grasses found include Quaking-grass,

Crested Dog's-tail ''Cynosurus cristatus'', the crested dog's-tail, is a short-lived perennial grass in the family Poaceae, characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It typically grows in species rich grassland. It thrives in a variety of soil types ...

, Sheep's- fescue, Downy Oat-grass and Yellow Oat-grass. Amongst these grasses is

Mouse-ear Hawkweed ''Pilosella officinarum'' ( synonym ''Hieracium pilosella''), known as mouse-ear hawkweed, is a yellow-flowered species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to Europe and northern Asia. It produces single, lemon-coloured infl ...

Wild Thyme ''Thymus serpyllum'', known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is ...

, Bird's-foot-trefoil,

Lady's Bedstraw ''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is ...

Carline Thistle ''Carlina vulgaris'', the carline thistle, is a plant species of the genus '' Carlina''. It is a biennial that grows on limestone, chalky or other alkaline grasslands or dunes. The flowers are clusters of very small brown florets surrounded by br ...

, Mountain Everlasting, Purging Flax and

Eyebright ''Euphrasia'', or eyebright, is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly included in the Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are semi-parasitic on grasses and other ...

Recreation

It is a scenic walking route called ''Cullahill mountain'' is through forests and farm land in partnership with Laois/Offaly Walking Partnership and Cullahill Rural Development Association. The walk begins at

village, and is a 10 km walk along field paths, forest tracks, lanes and minor roadways. Passing ''Cummer Well'' and a ring fort, it tracks the low hills above the village of

. The walk provides views of the

Slieve Bloom The Slieve Bloom Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Bladhma; la, Bladinae montes) is a mountain range in Ireland. They rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards. The high ...

mountains to the north west, the Comeraghs and Galtees to the south west, and the Blackstairs and Wicklow Hills to the east. Blackstairs, Keeper Hill and Slieve na mBan Mountains can be seen. Some off-road cycling occurs in the area.

References

External links

* * {{Mountains and hills of Leinster Mountains and hills of County Laois Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland

Geography

Recreation

See also

References

Further reading

External links