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 ...
on the Arderin scale, and the 33rd–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, Tonelagee is situated in the central sector of the
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...
range, and sits on the main "central spine" of the range that runs from
Kippure
Kippure () at , is the 56th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 72nd-highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Colli ...
Sally Gap
The R759 road is a regional road in Ireland running south-east to north-west through the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains, from the R755 near Roundwood in East Wicklow to the N81 in West Wicklow. The other route through the Wicklow Mounta ...
in the north, via Mullaghcleevaun, to Tonelagee. Tonelagee is the third highest peak in Wicklow after
Mullaghcleevaun.
To the north is the subsidiary summit of Stoney Top , and to the east is another subsidiary summit of Tonelagee NE Top ; between these three summits is the deep "heart-shaped" corrie lake of Lough Ouler.
Naming
Irish academic Paul Tempan, notes Tonelagee is sometimes spelled Tonelegee and its Irish name of ''Tóin le Gaoith'' appears in several Irish placenames, such as
Tandragee
Tandragee () is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is built on a hillside overlooking the Cusher River, in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower. It had a population of 3,486 people in the 2011 Cen ...
in Antrim, however, it was not clear what they had in common regarding the wind. In addition, Tempan found no particular evidence of any other Irish language names behind Stoney Top except to note that there was a cross-inscribed standing stone between Stoney Top and the summit of Tonelagee.
Geography
Tonelagee is the third highest peak in the
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...
, and is situated in southern-end of the central section of the range. Tonelagee sits on the main "central spine" of the whole
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...
range that runs from
Kippure
Kippure () at , is the 56th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 72nd-highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Colli ...
Sally Gap
The R759 road is a regional road in Ireland running south-east to north-west through the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains, from the R755 near Roundwood in East Wicklow to the N81 in West Wicklow. The other route through the Wicklow Mounta ...
in the north, via Mullaghcleevaun, to Tonelagee.
Tonelagee's
prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of , qualifies it was a Marilyn, and also ranks it as the 15th-highest mountain in Ireland on the
MountainViews Online Database
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 heigh ...
, '' 100 Highest Irish Mountains'', where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres. Tonelagee's main "boggy
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
" includes the northern subsidiary summit of Stoney Top , which has a
prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of that qualifies it as Vandeleur-Lynam; while its second major eastern subsidiary summit of Tonelagee NE Top , has a
prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
of also qualifying it as Vandeleur-Lynam.
Tonelagee's massif includes a long south-easterly spur with the summits of (in order of proximity): Tonlagee South-East Top , Brockagh Mountain North-West Top , Brockagh Mountain , and Brockagh Mountain SE Top .
One of Tonelagee's most distinctive features is its deep north-eastern corrie, which contains the "heart-shaped" natural lake of Lough Ouler at (not as high as Wicklow's highest natural lake of Cleevaun Lough at , on Mullaghcleevaun).
Hill walking
A common route to the summit of Tonelagee is from the east via an 8-kilometre 3-4 hour "loop walk" which starts from a large car-park just above Glenmacnass Waterfall just off the R115 road (also called the ''Old Military Road''). The route crosses the Glenmacnass River to reach Tonelagee's north-east corrie and Lough Ouler, from where it then summits via the northern edge of the corrie rim to the summit of Tonelagee (passing the mica-shist "standing stone" along the way); the descent is via Tonelagee NE Top and then directly down to the shoulder to the Glenmacnass Waterfall car park.
A shorter even more direct route is from the
Wicklow Gap
Wicklow Gap () is one of the highest Irish mountain passes served by an asphalted road. It is located in County Wicklow, Ireland.
Geography
The pass is opened between Tonelagee (Nort east) and Turlough Hill / Camaderry (South). It connects ...
on the R756 road to the west, climbing the 6-kilometre 2-3 hour route directly up the shoulder of Tonelagee and then retracing back to the car; this route is rarely offered in guidebooks as it leaves out Lough Ouler and Tonelagee's subsidiary summits.
Bibliography
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Gallery
File:Tonelagee_summit_pillar.png, Summit pillar
File:Lough Ouler from Tonelagee.jpg, Heart-shaped Lough Ouler
File:Deer, Tonelagee.jpg, Deer on Tonelagee
File:Tonelagee and Lough Ouler.jpg, North-east corrie and Lough Ouler
File:Wicklow Gap from Tonelagee slopes.png,
Wicklow Gap
Wicklow Gap () is one of the highest Irish mountain passes served by an asphalted road. It is located in County Wicklow, Ireland.
Geography
The pass is opened between Tonelagee (Nort east) and Turlough Hill / Camaderry (South). It connects ...
Wicklow Round
The Wicklow Round is a long-distance hill running challenge in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The route follows a proscribed 100-kilometre circuit of 26 mountains, which must be completed in a fixed order, that total over of elevation; the ...
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Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...
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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 heigh ...
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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 ...
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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 i ...
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List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland
This is a list of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland by height. Hewitts are defined as "Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over two thousand" feet in height, the general requirement to be called a "mountain" in the British Isl ...
DoBIH
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attemp ...
DoBIH
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attemp ...