The Slieve Miskish Mountains are a small range of low sandstone mountains found at the extreme south-western tip of the

Beara Peninsula Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

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 ...

. The name derives from the Irish "Sliabh Mioscais," "the Mountains of Malice." Unlike the Caha Mountains, which lie further north on the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

, the Slieve Miskish Mountains lie entirely on the Cork side of the peninsula, part of which belongs to

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. There are only four named mountain peaks in the range: Knocknagallaun, 376 m; Knockgour, 481 m; Knockoura, 490 m; and Miskish Mountain, 386 m. They overshadow the main town on the peninsula, Castletownbere, as well as the village of

Allihies Allihies (; ) is a townland in the civil parish of Kilnamanagh, in County Cork, Ireland. The townland of Allihies is located at the western tip of the Beara Peninsula. History of copper mining From the Bronze Age the area had been a site of co ...

on their western slope, which was once the centre of a thriving

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mining industry in the 19th century. The now-abandoned mines and surrounding buildings can still be seen on the mountain slopes above Allihies.

See also