Diamond Hill or Bengooria () is an isolated peak overlooking the village of

Letterfrack Letterfrack or Letterfrac () is a small village in the Connemara area of County Galway, Ireland. It was founded by Quakers in the mid-19th century. The village is south-east of Renvyle peninsula and north-east of Clifden on Barnaderg Bay an ...

, in the northwest corner of the

Twelve Bens , photo=Boats and mountains, Roundstone (6047965086).jpg , photo_caption= View of the range from Roundstone village. , region = Connacht , region_type = Provinces of Ireland , translation = The peaks of Beola , language = Irish language ...

Connemara National Park Connemara National Park ( ga, Páirc Naisiúnta Chonamara) is one of six national parks in Ireland, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is located in the northwest of Connemara in County Galway, on the west coast. History ...

in County Galway,

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 ...

. At only , it does not rank as an Arderin, or a Vandeleur-Lynam; however, it has the

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 ...

to rank as a Marilyn.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, Diamond Hill lies just west of Knockbrack and the small

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 ...

Benbrack Benbrack () at , is the 251st–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale; while it does not have the elevation to be a Vandeleur-Lynam, it has the prominence to rank as a Marilyn.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mou ...

, and looks into the Polladirk valley, around which several major Bens are located. Despite its moderate size and isolation, compared to the nearby Twelve Bens, Diamond Hill is a popular peak due to its paths and boarded mountain trail, and relative ease of access, together with views of the core Twelve Bens range, and western Connemara.

Naming

According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, "Ghuaire" most likely refers to

Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin (died 663) was a king of Connacht. A member of the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne and son of king Colmán mac Cobthaig (died 622). Guaire ruled at the height of Ui Fiachrach Aidne power in south Connacht. Early reign Guaire ap ...

(died 663), one of the

Kings of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...

and a member of the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne. Guaire was renowned for his hospitality and generosity and was known as "Guaire of the extended hand", and is the title character in W.B. Yeats’ play, ''The King’s Threshold''. He is also associated with

Dunguaire Castle Dunguaire Castle ( ga, Dún Guaire) is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvara (also spelled Kinvarra). The name derives from the Dun (fort) of King Guaire, the legendary ki ...

, near the village of Kinvara. Tempan also notes that Diamond Hill is also known as "Bengooria", being an anglicised version of its Irish name, as well as "Benhoowirra", an alternative anglicisation. The ''Discovery Map'' spells the name as "Diomond Hill", however, Tempan notes that this is not the locally accepted spelling (being "Diamond"), and relates to the glitter of the

quartz crystals Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

on the mountain.

Geography

Diamond Hill is an isolated peak of the

, which lies in the north-west corner of the range. Immediately east of Diamond Hill is the minor peak of Knockbrack at , which is part of the small

, one of the core ''

''. To the north of Diamond Hill is

Kylemore Lough Kylemore Lough () is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in the Connemara area of County Galway. Geography Kylemore Lough measures about long and wide. It is located about northeast of Clifden, just east of Connemara Na ...

(and

Kylemore Abbey Kylemore Abbey ( ga, Mainistir na Coille Móire) is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I an ...

), and across the Lough is the massif of Garraun, which is part of the wider

/Garraun Complex

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

. To the west of Diamond Hill is the Ballinakill harbour (and weather permitting, views to the isles of Inishboffin and Inishark), and to the south are the western boglands and dotted lakes of Connemara. To the southeast is the scenic valley of Polladirk, around which several major Bens are located, including Benbrack, Benfree (and

Benbaun Benbaun () is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mo ...

at , the tallest Ben in the range just behind Benfree),

Muckanaght Benbaun () is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's ...

, and Bencullagh .

Hill walking

Diamond Hill is popular for its accessibility and panoramic views, only ranking behind Croagh Patrick for footfall, and attracts both Irish walkers and foreign tourists. The mountain was closed to climbing in 2002 due to severe erosion but was re-opened in December 2005 after the completion of a Euro 1.4 million wooden boardwalk and stone path trail that would limit further erosion. The most popular route is the 7-kilometre 2.5-hour round-trip trail that starts and ends at the National Park visitor centre in

, and does a loop over the summit ridge and back to the main trail; it does not require any special

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

ability and the trail is well marked, with pathways and boardwalks over bog sections. The trail splits into a ''Lower Diamond Hill Walk'' (3 km long loop), and an ''Upper Diamond Hill Walk'' (3.7 km long loop) which reaches the summit.

Gallery

File:Polladirk Valley, Twelve Bens, Ireland.jpg, Polladirk Valley:

and Knockbrack to the left, Benfree (and

right behind it) (centre left), and

(centre right) and Bencullagh (right) File:Kylemore lough - Diamond Hill.JPG, Diamond Hill, viewed from

in the northeast. File:Binn Ghuaire Lúnasa 2013.png, Trail (stone path section) along the final summit ridge of Diamond Hill File:View south from Diamond Hill.jpg, View south from the summit to the boglands of Connemara File:Summit of Diamond Hill looking west.jpg, Summit of Diamond Hill and view west, with Tully Mountain (right)

Bibliography

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References

External links

MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website
Diamond Hill

the largest database of British Isles mountains ("

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 ...

")
Hill Bagging UK & Ireland
the searchable interface for the

{{IrishTrails Marilyns of Ireland Mountains and hills of County Galway Geography of County Galway Mountains under 1000 metres