Benbreen () at , is the 100th–highest peak in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on the

Arderin Arderin () is a mountain on the border between counties Laois and Offaly in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is ...

scale, and the 122nd–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, Benbreen lies in the southern end of the

Twelve Bens The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola (), is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the rang ...

mountain range in the

Connemara National Park Connemara National Park () is one of eight 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 Connemara National Park was fo ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. Benbreen is the 4th-tallest mountain of the

range, after

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 M ...

Bencorr Bencorr () at , is the 82nd–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 102nd–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", ...

, and

Bencollaghduff Bencollaghduff () at , is the 93rd–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 115th–highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, ...

. Benbreen's profile is of a "high narrow rocky ridge with several summits", than a typical "peaked mountain".

Naming

Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that can mean "drip" or "drop", but is more likely related to a personal name, and is the basis of the local surnames and , which have been

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as "Breen" and "McBreen".

Geography

The actual summit of Benbreen lies on the southern end of a long high rocky

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

ridge that includes the subsidiary peaks of Benbreen Central Top , and Benbreen North Top ; this gives Benbreen the profile of a "high narrow ridge", with Benbreen as the South Top, than a typical "peaked mountain". Benbreen Central Top's

prominence In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...

of , and Benbreen North Top's prominence of , qualify them both as Vandeleur-Lynams on the Irish mountain classification system. Benbreen lies between the summits of

to the north, and

Bengower Bengower () at , is the 135th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 166th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins ...

to the south, and its southerly ridge down to the col with Bengower (known as , or "pass of the wind" at 470 metres), is noted for its large deposits of

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

. Benbreen's

of qualifies it as a Marilyn, and it also ranks it as the 60th-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 height ...

, '' 100 Highest Irish Mountains'', where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres.

Recreation

Hill walking

Benbreen is most often climbed as part of the popular 16–kilometre 8–9 hour ''Glencoaghan Horseshoe'', considered one of Ireland's best high-grade hill-walking routes. Benbreen is also climbed as part of the even longer ''Owenglin Horseshoe'', a 20–kilometre 10–12 hour route around the Owenglin River taking in over twelve summits;

Rock climbing

Benbreen's northeastern cliffs have multi-pitch rock-climbs with

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

from Diff (D) to Moderate Severe (MS), and length ranging from 40 to 130 metres. Some of the first ascents date from the mid 1980s, and noted routes include ''Blind Faith'' (S 3a, 4a, 3a, 80 m), and ''Stoned & Starving'' (S -, 4a, 75 m).

Gallery

File:Ben Gower (left) and Benbreen (right) from Bencollaghduff.jpg,

(left) and Benbreen (right), from the summit of

File:Benbreen & Bencollaghduff from north ridge of Bengower.jpg, Benbreen and its southern scree slopes, from the summit of

File:Bengower, Benbreen, Benbaun & Bencollaghduff from Derryclare.jpg,

(left), Benbreen's high summit ridge (centre), and

(right) File:Benlettery, Bengower & Benbreen from summit of Bencorr.jpg, Benbreen's mini-massif and summit ridge, from

File:Benbreen from bottom of south ridge of Benbaun.jpg, Benbreen's northeast face (see rock climbing), viewed from the col of

Maumina Benbaun () is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur ...

with

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website
Benbreen

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 attempt ...

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

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