The Cooley Mountains () are on the
Cooley Peninsula in northeast
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
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 ...
. They consist of two ridges running northwest to southeast, separated by the valley of Glenmore with the Big River running through it.
Slieve Foy, at , is the highest peak of the range and the highest in County Louth. It is on the eastern ridge, which is about long and also includes the peaks of The Eagles Rock (528m), The Ravens Rock (457m), The Foxes Rock (404m), and Barnavave (350m).
This latter name comes from ''Bearna Mhéabha'' (Maeve's Gap), and refers to the legendary Queen
Medb (Maeve), whose army is said to have dug a pass through the mountain.
The western ridge is made up of
Clermont Carn (510 m),
Carnavaddy (475m) and Slievenaglogh (310m).
The mountains are the mythical home of
hurling
Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
as told in the ''
Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley), when
Sétanta traveled through the mountains hitting his ''
sliothar'' (ball) before him on his way to
Emain Macha. This feat is re-enacted every year in the
All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship which takes place on Annaverna Mountain.
References
Mountains and hills of County Louth
{{Mountains and hills of Leinster