Slieve Foye
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Slieve Foy or Slieve Foye ( ga, Sliabh Feá)Slieve Feá/Slieve Foye
Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland ( ga, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of t ...
. is a mountain on the
Cooley Peninsula The Cooley Peninsula (, older ''Cúalṅge'') is a hilly peninsula in the north of County Louth on the east coast of Ireland; the peninsula includes the small town of Carlingford, the port of Greenore and the village of Omeath. Geography The ...
in
Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...
, Ireland. It rises to , making it the highest of the
Cooley Mountains The Cooley Mountains () are on the Cooley Peninsula in northeast County Louth in Ireland. They consist of two ridges running northwest to southeast, separated by the valley of Glenmore with the Big River running through it. Slieve Foy, at ...
and the highest in Louth. It overlooks
Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore i ...
and the village of Carlingford, and is sometimes called Carlingford Mountain.


Geography

Slieve Foy is one of two ridges which make up the Cooley Mountains and is separated from the rest of the range by the Windy Gap. It is an elongated mountain running northwest–southeast and includes the lesser summits known as The Foxes Rock, The Ravens Rock, The Eagles Rock, and Barnavave.


Naming

The name ''Sliabh Feá'' means "mountain of the woods". Locally the name is understood as ''Sliabh Fathaigh'', "mountain of the giant", because its outline is said to resemble a sleeping giant. Local lore has it that the giant Finn, representing summer, stood on the mountain while fighting his rival Ruscaire, representing winter. Finn is said to have beaten Ruscaire by throwing a boulder across the lough at him, which became the
Cloughmore Cloughmore or Cloghmore (), known locally as "The Big Stone", is a huge granite boulder perched on a mountainside almost above the village of Rostrevor, County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits on the slopes of Slieve Martin in Kilbroney Park, o ...
(The Big Stone) on Slieve Martin. The mountain also appears in the ''
Táin Bó Cúailnge (Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Iri ...
'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The army of Queen
Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had seve ...
(Maeve) is said to have dug a pass through the mountain, which became known as Barnavave (''Bearna Mhéabha'', "Maeve's gap").


Leprechauns

A local businessman began organising
leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. I ...
-related tourist activities in the area in 1989, including a "leprechaun hunt" to find hidden ceramic figures. In 2009, with support from local councillors, the mountain was formally declared a "Designated Area of Protection for Flora, Fauna, Wild Animals and Little People" under the EU
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 ...
.; ;


See also

*
Lists of mountains in Ireland In these lists of mountains in Ireland, those within Northern Ireland, or on the Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, are marked with an asterisk, while the rest are within the Republic of Ireland. Where mountains are ranked by height ...
*
List of Irish counties by highest point This is a list of Irish counties by their highest point. These are most commonly known as county high points but are also sometimes referred to as county tops and county peaks. There are 32 counties in Ireland, but in the case of 10 counties, m ...
*
List of mountains of the British Isles by height This is a list of mountains in Britain and Ireland by height and by prominence. Height and prominence are the most important metrics for the classifications of mountains by the UIAA; with isolation a distant third criterion. The list is sourced ...
*
List of Marilyns in the British Isles This is a list of Marilyn hills and mountains in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Ireland by height. Marilyns are defined as peaks with a prominence of or more, regardless of height or any other merit (e.g. topographic isolation, as used in ...


References

{{Mountains and hills of Leinster Mountains and hills of County Louth Highest points of Irish counties Marilyns of Ireland