The Knockmealdown Mountains ( ga, Sléibhte Chnoc Mhaoldomhnaigh) are a mountain range located on the border of counties

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

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 ...

, running east and west between the two counties. The highest peak of the range is

Knockmealdown Knockmealdown ( ga, Cnoc Mhaoldomhnaigh, meaning 'hill of Maoldomhnach') is the highest peak of the Knockmealdown Range of mountains, located on the border between Co Tipperary and Co Waterford. Geography The peak itself is located in County W ...

, in County Waterford. On the western side of the summit, the range is crossed by a high pass called ‘The Vee’ through which runs the old

mail coach A mail coach is a stagecoach that is used to deliver mail. In Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, they were built to a General Post Office-approved design operated by an independent contractor to carry long-distance mail for the Post Office. M ...

road from Lismore to Clogheen. The mountains were formerly known as ''

Sliabh gCua Sliabh gCua (formerly anglicized as 'Slieve Gua' or 'Slieve Goe')Tempan, Paul"Sliabh in Irish Place-Names". Queen's University Belfast, 2008. p.29 is a traditional district of west County Waterford, Ireland, between Clonmel and Dungarvan, cover ...

'', sometimes anglicized 'Slieve Gua' or 'Slieve Goe'.Tempan, Paul
"Sliabh in Irish Place-Names"
Queen's University Belfast. p.29

Mountain peaks

List of peaks in the Knockmealdown Mountains ordered by height: *

, ''Cnoc Mhaoldomhnaigh'' (794 m) *Knockmoylan, ''Cnoc Maoláin'' (768 m) * Knocknafallia, ''Cnoc na Faille'' (668 m) * Sugarloaf Hill, ''Cnoc na gCloch'' (663 m) *Knocknagnauv, ''Cnoc na gCnámh'' (655 m) *Knockshanahullion, ''Cnoc Seanchuillinn'' (652 m) *Knocknalougha, ''Cnoc na Loiche'' (630 m) *Knockmeal, ''An Cnoc Maol'' (560 m) *Crohan West, ''An Cruachán'' (521 m) *Farbreaga, ''An Fear Bréige'' (518 m)

Wildlife

This mountain range is an important breeding ground for two endangered species, the red grouse and the

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

;

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

crossbill The crossbill is a genus, ''Loxia'', of birds in the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterised by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange in ...

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

and

grasshopper warbler The grass warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Locustella''. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the ...

can also be seen.

References

{{Mountains of County Waterford Mountains and hills of County Waterford Marilyns of Ireland Hewitts of Ireland Mountains and hills of County Tipperary