Binn Mhór (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for "great peak") is one of the

Maumturk Mountains , photo=View south to Knocknahillion from Letterbreckaun.jpg , photo_caption= Maumturk Mountains: looking south from Letterbreckaun towards Knocknahillion and Binn idir an dá Log. , country=Republic of Ireland , region = Connacht , region_ ...

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, w ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Ireland. At , it is the third-highest of the Maumturks, the 140th-highest peak in Ireland on the

Arderin Arderin () is a mountain on the border between Laois and Offaly in Ireland. With a height of 527 metres (1,729 ft) it is the highest point in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, and is the highest point in both County Laois and County Offaly. ...

list, and 171st-highest on the

Vandeleur-Lynam 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 ...

list.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, Binn Mhór is on the southern side of the pass of Máméan, on a 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 ...

that includes

Mullach Glas Mullach Glas ( Irish for "grey/green summit") is one of the Maumturk Mountains of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the fifth-highest of the Maumturks, the 197th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and 238th–highes ...

() and

Corcogemore Corcogemore () at , is the 208th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 253rd–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderi ...

(); this massif is at the far southeastern sector of the long north-west to south-east spine of the Maumturks.

Naming

Irish academic Paul Tempan records that Binn Mhór has also been called "Shannakeala".

Geography

Binn Mhór lies on a small massif in the southeast sector of the Maumturks range, separated from the main range by a deep east-west mountain pass called Máméan. Máméan has been a site of pilgrimage dedicated to Saint Patrick since the 5th century, and several historical items are dug into the lower southerly slopes of

Binn Chaonaigh Binn Chaonaigh (Irish for "peak of the moss") is one of the Maumturk Mountains of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the fourth-highest of the Maumturks, the 185th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 223rd-highest o ...

(), on the northern side of Máméan, including a holy well, a cleft in the rock known as Saint Patrick's Bed ( ga, Leaba Phádraig) where the saint reputedly slept, a circle of stones for the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imita ...

, and a Mass Rock ( ga, Carraig an Aifrinn). Binn Mhór's massif has a high east-west ridge with three subsidiary peaks. To the west, and directly overlooking Máméan, is the subsidiary summit of Binn Mhór West Top or Binn Ramhar (), whose

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 as an Arderin Beg. To the east along the ridge are the subsidiary summits of Binn Mhór NE Top (), whose prominence of qualifies it as an

; and Binn Mhór East Top (), whose prominence of only means it does not qualify on any recognised scale. Further east along the ridge of Binn Mhor's massif lie the peaks of

() and

(). Binn Mhór's , prominence of qualifies it as a Marilyn, and it also ranks as the 89th-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 is 100 metres.

Hill walking

The most straightforward route to the summit of Binn Mhór is the 6-kilometre 2-hour roundtrip route from the pass at Máméan and back; however, because of its positioning on a high ridge of its own small massif, it can also be climbed as a 10-kilometre 4–5 hour route from Corcogemore in the west, across Mullach Ghlas, to the summit of Binn Mhor, and then finishing down at Máméan (e.g. the route requires two cars). Binn Mhór is also climbed as part of the ''Maamturks Challenge'', a 25-kilometre 10–12 hour walk over the full Maumturks range (from

Maam Cross Maam Cross () is a crossroads in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Shindilla, at the junction of the N59 from Galway to Clifden and the R336 from Galway to the Maam Valley which runs from Maum An Mám (ang ...

Leenaun Leenaun (), also Leenane, is a village and 1,845 acre townland in County Galway, Ireland, on the southern shore of Killary Harbour and the northern edge of Connemara. Location Leenaun is situated on the junction of the N59 road (Ireland), N59 ro ...

), which is considered one of the "great classic ridge-walks of Ireland", but of "extreme grade" due to the circa 7,600 feet of total ascent. Since 1975, the

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

Mountaineering Club has run the annual "Maamturks Challenge Walk" (MCW), and man a checkpoint in the Máméan pass; climbers descend from Binn Mhór at 661 metres to Máméan at only 150 metres, before re-ascending to

at 633 metres.

Gallery

File:Binn Mhor from Binn Chaonaigh.jpg, Massif of Binn Mhor, and the lough in Máméan, from summit of

File:Corcogemore (l), Mullach Glas (c) & Binn Mhor (r) from the North.jpg,

(left),

(centre), and Binn Mhor (right), as viewed from the north File:Binn Mhor as viewed from Mamean.jpg, Binn Mhor from the statue of Saint Patrick at Máméan File:Binn Mhor as viewed from Binn Chaonaigh.jpg,

(back left), and Binn Mhor (centre), viewed from

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

The Maamturks Challenge
University College Galway Mountaineering Club
The Maamturks Challenge: Routecard (2015)MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website
Binn Mhor

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binn Mhor Marilyns of Ireland Hewitts of Ireland Mountains and hills of County Galway Mountains under 1000 metres