Drung Hill () is a hill on the Iveragh Peninsula of southwestern Ireland. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, its summit is tall. Like the peak of

Knocknadobar Knocknadobar () at , is the 102nd–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 123rd–highest peak in Ireland according to the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vande ...

to the west, it has been a Christian pilgrimage site since pre-Christian times.

History

The name of the hill means 'gathering place' in Gaelic. Historically, the summit served as a boundary marker between different kingdoms. Until 1880, the harvest festival of

Lughnasa Lughnasadh or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaels, 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 i ...

was held at the end of every July on the summit. On the last Sunday of July, '' Domhnach na dTuras'' ('Pilgrimage Sunday') would be held, during which there would be gatherings on the summits of Drung Hill and

, with special meals cooked in open fires. In the November 1913 issue of the ''Kerry Archaeological Magazine'', M. J. Delap reported that pilgrims came from as far as

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Sites of interest

There are two

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

s on an old road below the summit of Drung Hill. The larger cairn, which has a diameter of approximately 30 metres, is known as Laghtfinnan and may have been erected in prehistoric times. Laghtfinnan was likely a Bronze Age or Neolithic burial site. On top of the cairn, there is a

leacht A leacht (plural: leachta) is a small square or rectangular stone structure often found in Early Irish Christian places of worship. They are typically made from rough, un mortared stones, and are most often found in monasteries on island off the w ...

with an Ogham inscription on it that reads ..MAQI R .. signifying that the name of the commemorated person's father began with the letter R. Cahircanaway (also written as ''Cahir-Canaway''), the smaller of the two cairns, is 2.5 metres high. It may have been the site of the inauguration of Fineen MacCarthy Reagh, the final

Mac Cárthaigh MacCarthy ( ga, Mac Cárthaigh), also spelled Macarthy, McCarthy or McCarty, is an Irish clan originating from Munster, an area they ruled during the Middle Ages. It was divided into several great branches; the MacCarthy Reagh, MacCarthy of Musk ...

Mór, by the Ó Súilleabháin Mór ( O'Sullivan Mor) in January 1600. Tobar Fhíonáin (Gaelic: 'Fionán's well'), a former holy well on Drung Hill named after St Fionán of Iveragh (Iveragh's most important saint), was also likely used during pilgrimage rituals.

Access

A section of the Kerry Way known as the ''Butter Road'' traverses the northern slopes of Drung Hill. The path was used to transport butter and other goods from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

to Kerry.

References

Bibliography

External links