Table Mountain is a peak in the southern section of the
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 ...
range in
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 ...
. With a
prominence
In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...
of only , it is only listed in a few of the
recognised categories of mountains in Ireland; it is the 110th–highest peak on the
Vandeleur-Lynam Irish scale.
[Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, ] Table Mountain is at the apex of a horseshoe-shaped "boggy"
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
with its larger neighbours,
Camenabologue and
Conavalla
Conavalla () at , is the 69th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 85th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins" ...
that sit at the head of the
Glenmalure
Glenmalure () is a 20-kilometre long U-shaped glacial valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Glenmalure is an important base for climbing in the Wicklow mountains, and particularly accessing the massif of Lugnaquilla, and contains one of ...
valley; all three peaks lie close to the "central spine" of the range as it runs from
Kippure
Kippure (; ) at , is the 56th-highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 72nd-highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September ...
in the north, to
Lugnaquillia in the south.
There is no recorded Irish language name for Table Mountain, and it has no connection with
Table Mountain
Table Mountain (; ) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa.
It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, cableway or hik ...
in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Plane crash
On the afternoon of 7 March 1957, between 12:30 and 12:45pm, a
Percival Provost
The Percival P.56 Provost is a basic trainer aircraft that was designed and manufactured by British aviation company Hunting Aircraft, Percival.
During the 1950s, the Provost was developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a replacement for the ...
training plane crashed into the slopes of Table Mountain in thick fog resulting in the death of its pilot, an
Irish Air Corps
The Air Corps () is the air force of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Organisationally a military branch of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Ireland, the Air Corps utilises a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft to carry out ...
lieutenant.
The pilot was 21-year-old Patrick L. O'Connor, of Clooneyquin,
Castlerea
Castlerea ( ; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 2,348 at the 2022 census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled castle' (''Caisl ...
,
County Roscommon
County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
.
[ The plane had left ]Baldonnel Aerodrome
Casement Aerodrome () or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the southwest of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole airfield of the Irish Air Corps, and ...
, Dublin at 11:15am that morning for an intended training flight over the counties of Offaly and Wicklow, but was believed to have lost contact with the control tower shortly after departure.[ The explosion was heard by forestry workers on nearby Conavalla Mountain who rushed to assist and were able to raise the alarm.][ Parts of the aircraft, which were scattered over an area of 80 yards, still remained on the slopes of the mountain as of 2010.]
Bibliography
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See also
*Wicklow Way
The Wicklow Way () is a long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designate ...
*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 ...
*Lists of mountains in Ireland
In these lists of mountains in Ireland, those within Northern Ireland, or on the Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, are marked with an asterisk, while the rest are within the Republic of Ireland. Where mountains are ranked by height ...
*List of mountains of the British Isles by height
This article provides access to lists of mountains in Britain and Ireland by height and by prominence. (See Lists of mountains below.) Height and prominence are the most important metrics for the classifications of mountains by the UIAA; with ...
*List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland
This is a list of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland by height. Hewitts are defined as "Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over two thousand" feet in height, the general requirement to be called a "mountain" in the British Isl ...
References
{{IrishTrails
External links
MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website
Table Mountain
the largest database of British Isles mountains ("DoBIH
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...
")
Hill Bagging UK & Ireland
the searchable interface for the DoBIH
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...
Mountains and hills of County Wicklow
Mountains under 1000 metres