The Slieve Felim Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Eibhlinne) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in Munster, Ireland. They cover parts of

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

and

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

. Historically, the name "Slieve Felim" meant the whole mountainous area between

Murroe Murroe (), officially spelled Moroe, is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. Environs Murroe is located in the north-eastern part of County Limerick, approximately 15 km from Limerick City and close to the County Tipperary border. ...

Silvermines Silvermines, historically known as Bellagowan (), is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. It lies immediately north of the Silvermine mountain range and takes its name from the extensive mines of lead, zinc, copper, baryte and silver nearb ...

Borrisoleigh Borrisoleigh () is a small town in County Tipperary, Ireland. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 679. In recent years the population has exceeded 1,000 while historically the population has been around 8,000. It is in the ecclesiastical ...

and Dundrum, including the

Silvermine Mountains The Silvermine Mountains or Silvermines Mountains ( ga, Sliabh an Airgid) are a mountain range in County Tipperary, Ireland. The highest peak of the range is Keeper Hill or Slievekimalta at high. Traditionally, the mountains were deemed to be ...

and Mauherslieve.Tempan, Paul (2006)
"Two Mountain Names: Slieve Felim and Mauherslieve"
''North Munster Antiquarian Journal'', volume 6. pp.120-122 However, today the name usually only applies to the southwestern part, made up of Slieve Felim (), Cullaun (), Knockastanna () and Gortnageragh (). ''Sliabh Eibhlinne'' means "mountains of Ébliu", an ancient goddess. In the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'' (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), the newly-arrived Milesians meet the goddess

Fódla In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla, Fodhla or Fóla), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was one of the tutelary giantesses of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Cecht. With her sisters, Banba and ...

on these mountains, and she asks them to name the island after her. ''Fódla'' thus became a poetic name for Ireland. In the early modern era, the name ''Eibhlinne'' became confused with the more common male name '' Féilim'', and so the mountains became known in English as Slieve Felim.

Slieve Felim Way

The Slieve Felim Way is a long-distance trail through the Mountains. It is long and begins in

and ends in

, County Tipperary. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

and is managed by

Shannon Development Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised a ...

and Coillte. The trail begins in the village of Murroe and follows the road past Glenstal Abbey before crossing forestry along the slopes of the Slieve Felim Mountains to reach the village of Toor. From Toor, the Way crosses the flanks of Keeper Hill in the Silvermine Mountains before following the road into Silvermines village.

References

{{coord, 52.67, -8.28, type:mountain_region:IE, display=title Mountains and hills of County Limerick