Devilsmother is a mountain in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, 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, ...

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 ...

. Devilsmother is in the

Partry Mountains The Partry Mountains () is a mountain range in western Connacht, Ireland. It is in an area known as Joyce Country, Partry, on the borders of County Mayo and County Galway. The mountains stand between Lough Mask (to the northeast), Lough Corrib ...

, at the head of

Killary Harbour Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord () is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains. S ...

, overlooking the Western Way long-distance path. It sits on the border between

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 ...

(to the south) and

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

(to the north).

Etymology

The mountain has two

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

names: ''Magairlí an Deamhain'' (meaning "the demon's testicles") and ''Binn Gharbh'' (meaning "rough peak").Tempan, Paul
"Irish Hill and Mountain Names"

MountainViews.ie Mountaineering Ireland is the representative association for hikers and mountaineers on the island of Ireland. It is recognized by both Sport Ireland, the Irish authority for sport, and Sport Northern Ireland, the corresponding authority of the G ...

. The anglicized spellings Mogarlyandoon and Ben Garrif appear on some historical maps. Originally, it seems that ''Magairlí an Deamhain'' was the knobbly end of the mountain's northern ridge, while ''Binn Gharbh'' was the mountain as a whole. The English name Devilsmother may be "a euphemistic false translation" or may be based on an alternative name.

References

{{Mountains and hills of Connacht Mountains and hills of County Galway Mountains and hills of County Mayo Hewitts of Ireland Marilyns of Ireland Mountains under 1000 metres