Slieve Coillte () is a hill in the south of County Wexford,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The hill is the highest point on the

Hook peninsula The Hook Peninsula is a peninsula in County Wexford, Ireland. It has been a gateway to south-east Ireland for successive waves of newcomers, including the Vikings, Anglo-Normans and the English. The coastline has a number of beaches. The penins ...

, with an elevation of . Villages around Slieve Coillte include

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. It is located on the River Barrow, near the border with County Kilkenny, and is around northeast of Waterford. In 2016 it had a population of 8,040 people, making it t ...

Slaught Donald Martin Slaught (born September 11, 1958), nicknamed "Sluggo", is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 through 1997 for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas R ...

, Cassagh, Gusserane,

Campile Campile () is a small village situated in County Wexford in the south of Ireland. It is south of the town of New Ross. As of the 2016 census, Campile had a population of 448 people. History Archaeological evidence of ancient settlement in t ...

, Ramsgrange and

Duncannon Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village. Pri ...

. On a good day the whole of the

can be overseen, up to the 12th Century

Hook lighthouse The Hook Lighthouse (; also known as Hook Head Lighthouse) is a building situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, in Ireland. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lig ...

on Hook Head, one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world.

Hillwalking

Slieve Coillte is popular with hillwalkers, with thousands of people climbing the mountain every year. A road leads to a viewpoint on the summit. The road is accessible by car, so the view from Slieve Coillte can also be enjoyed without a walk to the top. Starting from the viewpoint is a circular track that is also suitable for inexperienced walkers. On the south side of the hill is the

John F. Kennedy Arboretum The John F. Kennedy Arboretum, on the Hook Head peninsula near New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, is a park under public administration (owned by the Office of Public Works, managed by the National Botanic Gardens (Ireland), National Botanic ...

with approximately 4,500 species of trees and shrubs on .

History

At the summit there is also a

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

memorial stone that states: "The rebels camped on Slieve Coillte from the 7th to 10th June. Bagenal Harvey resigned his command here. He was succeeded by Fr Philip Roche. A detachment under the command of Thomas Cloney attacked the gunboats on the river Barrow at Fisherstown." Slieve Coillte was picked because of the excellent view of the other camps in

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N1 ...

such as

Lacken Hill Lacken () is a townland about two miles outside the town of New Ross in County Wexford, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of Oldross and the electoral division of Whitemoor. Central to the area is Lacken Hill, a hill planted with a mix ...

, Carrigbyrne Hill, Forth Mountain and Oulart Hill. It is about from Scoil Mhuire and you can see several counties from its summit such as

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

, Kilkenny and

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

Mythology

Slieve Coillte is alleged to play a role in

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 ...

. The hill outside New Ross is Ireland's

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat or , ''Ararat''; or is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and the ...

where the first invasion of Ireland took place in 2242 B.C. when Cessair the granddaughter of

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...

, escaping the

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

, made the first incursion or invasion into Ireland.

References

{{reflist Landscape Mountains and hills of County Wexford Highest points of Irish counties Locations in Celtic mythology