Slievecallan or Slieve Callan (), also historically called 'Mount Callan', is a mountain with a height of in west County Clare, Ireland.MountainViews
/ref> It is the third highest mountain in the county. There is a small lake and two megalithic tombs on the south side, and traditionally the mountain was used for

Lughnasa Lughnasadh or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaels, Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Modern Irish it is called , in gd, Lùnastal, and i ...

gatherings.

Archaeology

On the south side of the mountain, in the townland of Knockalassa, are the remains of two megalithic tombs; one on the mountainside and one further down by the Ennis Road. Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage or disrespect such tombs and that deliberately doing so could bring a curse. An ogham stone was found in the late 18th century in the same area. It was the first ogham inscription to be translated and published.de hÓir, Siobhán
''The Mount Callan Ogham Stone and its Context''
''North Munster Antiquarian Journal'', issue 25 (1983). pp.43-57 The inscription claims to mark the grave of Conán, one of the fianna of

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

Charles Vallancey General Charles Vallancey FRS (6 April 1731 – 8 August 1812) was a British military surveyor sent to Ireland. He remained there and became an authority on Irish antiquities. Some of his theories would be rejected today, but his drawings, fo ...

and Theophilus O'Flanagan published what they claimed was a poem from the medieval tale ''

Cath Gabhra ''Cath Gabhra'' (English: ''The Battle of Gabhair'' or ''Gowra'') is a narrative of the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. It tells of the destruction of the fianna and the deaths of most of its warriors in a battle against the forces of High King ...

'', which says that Conán was slain at Slievecallan during a ceremony to worship the sun.

Michael Comyn Michael Comyn (6 June 1871 – 6 October 1952) was an Irish barrister, Fianna Fáil Senator and later a judge on the Circuit Court. He was also a member of the British Civil Service, geologist, discoverer and operator of mines, and finally "li ...

wrote that people would gather on the mountainside, at ''Buaile na Gréine'' (" summer pasture of the Sun"), where they would sacrifice livestock to the Sun at a stone altar. A small lake on the mountainside is called Lough Boolynagreana. However, it is now accepted that the ogham stone was carved shortly before its discovery, and the ''Cath Gabhra'' poem is not found in the original. Nevertheless, the stone fueled antiquarian fieldwork and the study of ogham. Up until recent times, people would gather on Slievecallan each August to celebrate the festival of

Geography

The mountain sits more or less in the centre of the triangle formed by the villages of Milltown Malbay, Inagh and Connolly, in the west of County Clare. The regional road R474 (

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

- Connoly - Milltown Malbay), passes on the southernside of the mountain. The R460 ( Gort - Inagh - Milltown Malbay) passes on the northern side.

Environment

Slievecallan has a wet oceanic climate with an average annual rainfall of 2,000 mm and high average wind speeds. This is due to the proximity of the ocean (just 8 kilometres away) and its prominence in the landscape. Geologically the soils are a mixture of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

peaty gley Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

and gley soils over horizontal layers of

carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, and

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

. The soil is relatively poor in nutrients. Without human interference the natural vegetation of this area would consist of woodlands dominated by ash ('' Fraxinus excelsior'') in alkaline areas. Hazel (''

Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It is an important component of the hedgerows that were the traditional field boundaries in lowland En ...

'') and oak ('' Quercus petraea'') woods would be prominent in the more acidic areas. Nowadays (2014) most of the land surrounding Slievecallan is heathland, pasture and non-native forestry. The forestry is mainly plantations of Sitka spruce ('' Picea sitchensis'')

Windfarm

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

on Slievecallan, with accompanying roads and substations, was approved planning permission in 2017 – despite opposition from locals and An Taisce (The National Trust). As part of the planning application, developers reportedly committed to providing €1.5 million in community funding to the communities of Milltown Malbay,

Quilty Quilty is an Irish family name which has spread throughout the English-speaking world. Origins and history The name "Quilty" is an Anglicized form of the ancient Gaelic name of "Caoilte" (pronounced: Kweelteh). There was a mythic Celtic warrior ...

and Mullagh (both in Kilmurry Ibrickane),

Kilmaley Kilmaley ( ga, Cill Mháille) is a village situated west of the town of Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. The name "Kilmaley" came from the Irish language "Cill Mhaile" which translates to Church of (Saint) Maley. Location Kilmaley is in the b ...

and Inagh. The wind farm consists of 29 turbines, with 11 in the "Slievecallan East" and 18 in the "Slievecallan West" developments. Completed in 2018, the wind farm was sold in 2020 by the then owners (WCRE Windfarms Ltd and Brookfield Renewable Partners) to a joint venture comprising Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co and Arjun Alliance UK 2 LP.

References

{{Mountains and hills of Munster Mountains and hills of County Clare Marilyns of Ireland Archaeological sites in County Clare