The Slieve Miskish Mountains are a small range of low sandstone mountains found at the extreme south-western tip of the

Beara Peninsula Beara () or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare River (which is actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down its ce ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

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 ...

. The name derives from the Irish "Sliabh Mioscais," "the Mountains of Malice." Unlike the Caha Mountains, which lie further north on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

, the Slieve Miskish Mountains lie entirely on the Cork side of the peninsula, part of which belongs to

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. There are only four named mountain peaks in the range: Knocknagallaun, 376 m; Knockgour, 481 m;

Knockoura Knockoura () is a mountain on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. Geography At an elevation of 490 metres Knockoura is one of the Irish Hangliding & Paragliding (IHPA)IHPA websitihpa.ie/ref> sites as well as being a site for 4 com ...

, 490 m; and Miskish Mountain, 386 m. They overshadow the main town on the peninsula, Castletownbere, as well as the village of Allihies on their western slope, which was once the centre of a thriving

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

mining industry in the 19th century. The now-abandoned mines and surrounding buildings can still be seen on the mountain slopes above Allihies.

See also