Tipperary's 'mountain of women' has a very popular peak that forms an unmistakable backdrop to the landscape, writes John G O'Dwyer
PEOPLE OF A certain age will instantly recognise the music. Once this ballad routinely reverberated around Croke Park on September Sundays, compliments of Artane Boys Band.
Those were days when Doyle, Maher and Stakelum-powered Tipperary teams claimed All- Ireland hurling success with monotonous regularity. Renditions are less frequent these days, as Premier County stickmen struggle to reclaim former glories.
Yet Slievenamon remains the quintessential Tipperary mountain, with those familiar lyrics "Alone, all alone" guaranteed a maudlin rendition wherever Tipp folk mingle around the globe.
Alone in song and alone by location, Tipperary's "mountain of women" consists of a stand-apart peak providing an ever-present and unmistakable backdrop to the landscape. It also boasts a much-visited summit, especially as a straightforward track to the top (total ascent 480m) has become very popular with power-walking females.
To ascend Slievenamon, follow the enclosed lane located above Kilcash. You will soon pass through a gate and on to open mountainside. Ahead, an obvious stony track, which initially runs parallel to a forest, climbs over a low rise and then heads directly for the summit. The going is never difficult but is somewhat demanding on the lungs. Halfway up you will likely be glad to turn around and admire the castellated Suir Valley below and the Comeragh Mountains opposite. Directly beneath, your eyes will be drawn to the ruins of Kilcash Castle, once a great stronghold of the Butlers. An unknown muse recorded the fall of this great house around 1650 in a poem that features the well-known opening lines "Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad?" It is still studied by schoolchildren as a poignant lament for the decline of Gaelic Ireland, and you might while away the time on the last leg of your ascent by trying to recall the remaining words.
The summit is crowned by a huge burial cairn, reputed to contain the entrance to the Celtic underworld. A depression in the rocks is believed to be Fionn Mac Cumhail's seat, from which he watched his bridal candidates race to the summit.
Legend has it that he cheated and helped his favourite, Gráinne, to win. Apparently she was unimpressed by such chivalry. During the subsequent wedding banquet she eloped with Diarmuid, thereby creating the tragic melodrama of Diarmuid and Gráinne.
Slievenamon has a flattened top, and so to appreciate the great views it is necessary to circle the summit plateau. Do this on a clear day and the tableau of east Munster and south Leinster appears beneath. On all sides fertile plains haze away to distant ranges. North and east are the Blackstairs, the Slieve Blooms and Slievefelim Hills. West and south are the Galtee, Knockmealdown and Comeragh Mountains, to complete the upland necklace.
At this stage you may return to your car by the route of your ascent. If you are inclined to further exercise, strike out across the heathery mountainside in a westerly direction. At first you descend quite rapidly, then the moorland terrain levels out and soon rises gently again.
After about two and a half kilometres Killusty Cross, which was erected to commemorate the 1950 Holy Year, will appear ahead. At this point bear left, following the crest of a sometimes bouldery spur until a steepish descent brings you to a track at right angles, skirting a forest.
Follow this track left and downhill to cross a stream, then continue upwards over a shoulder of the mountain. Eventually the track traverses a ravine formed by a river. From here there are several junctions.
The best rule is to follow the options that keep you highest on the mountain but still generally move eastwards. This will allow you to follow the contours effectively and rejoin the main track from Kilcash.
• Starting pointHeading from Clonmel to Kilkenny on R76, branch left for Ballypatrick after about 12km. Turn right and go through Kilcash, following signs for Slievenamon summit, until the entrance to a stony lane with roadside parking.
• SuitabilityAscent/descent by Kilcash track is suitable if you are of moderate fitness. On the extended circuit, the terrain has featureless moorland, so navigation skills are required on a misty day.
• TimeThe up-and-down route can be done in two hours. For the extended circuit, allow an additional two hours.
• MapTwo maps (67 and 75, Ordnance Survey Ireland Discovery Series) are needed for the full walk. Sheet 18 from old one-inch Tipperary map provides a broad outline of mountain contours.
• AccommodationNagles of Kilsheelan (052-33496) offers BB with en suite bathrooms. Evening meals available if pre-booked.