Cuilcagh () is a mountain on the border between

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

(in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

) and

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifne ...

(in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

). With a height of it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of Ireland, and Ireland's only

cross-border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

county top. Water from the southern slope flows underground until it emerges some miles away in the Shannon Pot, the traditional source of the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

. The area is sometimes referred to as the Cuilcagh Mountains.

Naming

The name Cuilcagh comes from the Irish ''Cuilceach'', which has been translated as "chalky". However, the mountain is mainly sandstone and shale, covered with bog and heather. The cliff-edged summit surface of the mountain is formed from the hard-wearing Lackagh Sandstone which itself overlies the Briscloonagh Sandstone. "It is possible that the name refers to the limestone rock on the lower northern flanks, namely the Glencar and Dartry Limestone formations. Here a number of streams disappear below ground at swallow holes named Cats Hole, Pollawaddy, Pollasumera and Polliniska, all forming part of the Marble Arch cave system. If so, the name would mean '

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adj ...

' rather than 'chalky'".Tempan, Paul
Irish Hill and Mountain Names
MountainViews.ie. It has also been called Slieve Cuilcagh in English, 'Slieve' being an anglicisation of ''Sliabh'' ("mountain"). In the 1609

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

, Cuilcagh formed part of lands which were granted to John Sandford of Castle Doe by letters patent dated 7 July 1613 (Pat. 11 James I – LXXI – 38, Quilkagh). It was later sold by Sandford to his wife's uncle Toby Caulfeild, 1st Baron Caulfeild, Master of the Ordnance and Caulfield had the sale confirmed by letters patent of 12 July 1620 (Pat. 19 James I. XI. 45, Quilkagh).

Nature

The Cuilcagh area supports a rich assemblage of upland insects, and is one of the most important sites in Ireland for these species. Species recorded include the water beetles ''Agabus melanarius'', ''Agabus arcticus'', ''Dytiscus lapponicus'', ''Stictotarsus multilineatus'', ''Hydroporus longicornis'' and ''Hydroporus morio'' and the water bugs ''Glaenocorisa propinqua'' and ''Callicorixa wollastoni''. Lough Atona is the main locality for these species.

Conservation

The Cuilcagh Mountain Park was opened by Fermanagh District Council in 1998.

Ramsar site

The Cuilcagh Mountain Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites ( wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It ...

), is 2744.45 hectares in area, at latitude 54 13 26 N and longitude 07 48 17 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 31 December 1998.

Geopark

In 2001 the Cuilcagh Mountain Park was joined with popular tourist attraction the Marble Arch Caves and the Cladagh Glen Nature Reserve to make one of the first

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

-recognised European Geoparks. This became a Global Geopark in 2004. In September 2008 the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark was expanded into County Cavan, making it the world's first transnational cross-border Geopark. The Geopark is protected and managed by Fermanagh & Omagh District Council through the staff of the Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre.

Boardwalk trail

In 2015, the Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail or Cuilcagh Legnabrocky Trail (also called "The Stairway to Heaven") was opened up to preserve and protect the underlying peatland bog from erosion; however, the trail led to a dramatic rise in visitors to Cuilcagh from circa 3,000 per annum to over 60,000. The popularity of the trail has led to concerns over the ability of the area to handle the increased visitors to the trail. Starting from the Legnabrocky Car Park (paid parking), the trail is over 6 kilometres long to the top (or over 7 kilometres starting from the nearby Marble Arch Caves car park). The first 5 kilometres are on a wide undulating gravel track, while the final kilometre involves climbing 450 wooden steps to a viewing gallery at the top of the route (which is close to the top of Cuilcagh mountain itself). Walkers are advised to allow 2.5–3.5 hours to complete the full 12–14 kilometre round-trip journey.

Gallery

File:Cuilcagh, Fermanagh - 33673332691.jpg, View from the summit File:Cuilcagh & Benaughlin in November 07.jpg, Benaughlin viewed from South Fermanagh with Cuilcagh on left File:Cuilcagh, Fermanagh - 33762156926.jpg, Boardwalk section of "Stairway to Heaven"

References

External links

Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail
''WalkNI'' (2018)

''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditional ...

'' (April 2017)
Cuilcagh Legnabrocky Boarded Mountain Trail
Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark (July 2015) {{Irish long-distance trails Mountains and hills of County Fermanagh Mountains and hills of County Cavan Marilyns of Ireland Marilyns of Northern Ireland Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border International mountains of Europe Highest points of Irish counties Mountains under 1000 metres Karst