Cullahill Mountain () is listed as a marilyn hill and a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, Ireland. Cullahill with an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of gives its name to the local townland. It is also called Knockmannon Hill. Cullahill Mountain takes its name from an ancient forest that covered the hill and extended down to

Cullahill Castle Cullahill Castle was the principal stronghold of the MacGillapatricks of Upper Ossory built around 1425 and destroyed around 1650. Cullahill Castle takes its name from an ancient forest that covered Cullahill Mountain and extended down to Cu ...

and the village of Cullahill. The first mention of the area was about 1460 where it was called and later in 1540 it was called "''Cowlekyll''". Cullahill Mountain contains a walking trail. There is population of rare

green-winged orchid ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid (synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe, Northern Africa and western Asia. Des ...

and on the downslope there is an

ash Ash is the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the ...

and

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

woodland. It is situated on the Castlecomer Plateau, along the main N8 road between Durrow in County Laois and

Johnstown, County Kilkenny Johnstown (), historically known as Coorthafooka (), is a small town in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Bypassed in December 2008 by the M8, the town lies at the junction of the R639, the R502 and the R435 regional roads. It is the home of the F ...

Geography

County Laois consists of a central plain, surrounded by a number of upland areas including the

Slieve Bloom Mountains The Slieve Bloom Mountains (; ) is a mountain range in Ireland. They rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of . While not very high, they are extensive by local standards. The highest points are Arderin () () at the southwestern en ...

in the northwest, Killeshin Plateau in the south east and Cullahill Mountain in the south. Cullahill Mountain lies on a western side of the Castlecomer Plateau. It forms the northern boundary to the valley running from

Ballyragget Ballyragget () is a small town on the river Nore in the north of County Kilkenny in Ireland. Ballyragget is on the N77 road (Ireland), N77 road, north of Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census, it had a population of 1,082 peo ...

Freshford, County Kilkenny Freshford () is a village and former town in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Cranagh (barony), Crannagh, County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 13 km north-west of Kilkenny city. The village is in a Civil parishes in Ireland, ...

.() The location is off the M8 motorway, 15 km north-east of

Urlingford Urlingford () is a town in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is also a civil parish within the barony of Galmoy. The town is in the north west of the county, along the boundary with County Tipperary, 16 km north-east of Thurles. Access The tow ...

and Johnstown, County Kilkenny, or south-west from Durrow along the R639 road. Cullahill Mountain is listed as

under the European Union

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...

. The site has a large population of green-winged orchid which is a rare species that is legally protected under the Irish governments ''Flora Protection Order (1987)''. The orchid flora of the grassland is notably rich, with

twayblade ''Neottia'' is a genus of orchids. The genus now includes the former genus ''Listera'', commonly known as twayblades referring to the single pair of opposite leaves at the base of the flowering stem. The genus is native to temperate, subarctic ...

frog orchid ''Dactylorhiza viridis'', the frog orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It has also been treated as the only species ''Coeloglossum viride'' of the monotypic genus ''Coeloglossum''. Description The plant ari ...

, bee orchid,

early-purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

and

. The west side of site extends downslope to an ash and hazel woodland. Most of vegetation at the site is herb-rich grassland over

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. With about 5 grass species, 2 sedges and 20 broad-leaved herbs and allows a rich insect fauna to maintain itself. Grasses found include quaking-grass,

crested dog's-tail ''Cynosurus cristatus'', the crested dog's-tail, is a short-lived perennial grass in the family Poaceae, characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It typically grows in species rich grassland. It thrives in a variety of soil types ...

sheep's-fescue ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

, downy oat-grass and yellow oat-grass. Amongst these grasses is mouse-ear hawkweed,

wild thyme ''Thymus serpyllum'', known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub formin ...

, bird's-foot-trefoil,

lady's bedstraw ''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Palestine, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kam ...

carline thistle ''Carlina vulgaris'', the carline thistle, is a plant species of the genus '' Carlina''. It is a biennial that grows on limestone, chalky or other alkaline grasslands or dunes. The flowers are clusters of very small brown florets surrounded by b ...

, mountain everlasting, purging flax and

eyebright ''Euphrasia'', or eyebright, is a genus of about 215 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly included in the Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are hemiparasitic on grasses and other pl ...

Recreation

A scenic walking route called ''Cullahill mountain'' goes through forests and farm land in partnership with Laois/Offaly Walking Partnership and Cullahill Rural Development Association. The walk begins at Cullahill village, and is a 10 km walk along field paths, forest tracks, lanes and minor roadways. Passing Cummer Well and a ring fort, it tracks the low hills above the village of Cullahill. The walk provides views of the Slieve Bloom mountains to the north west, the Comeraghs and Galtees to the south west, and the Blackstairs and

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

to the east.

Keeper Hill Keeper Hill or Slievekimalta ()Slievekimalta or Keeper Hill

Slievenamon Slievenamon or Slievenaman ( , "mountain of the women") is a mountain with a height of in County Tipperary, Ireland. It rises from a plain that includes the towns of Fethard, County Tipperary, Fethard, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir. The mountain ...

mountains can also be seen. Some off-road cycling occurs in the area.

References

External links

* * {{Mountains and hills of Leinster Mountains and hills of County Laois Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland

Geography

Recreation

See also

References

Further reading

External links