Skip to content
Cuilcagh
EntityQ3544420· pop 13· linked from 489 articles

Also known as Stairway to Heaven

Cuilcagh () is a mountain on the border between County Fermanagh (in Northern Ireland) and County Cavan (in the Republic of Ireland). With a height of it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of Ireland, and Ireland's only cross-border county top. Water from the southern slope flows underground until it emerges some miles away in the Shannon Pot, the traditional source of the River Shannon. The area is sometimes referred to as the Cuilcagh Mountains.

Key facts

Mountain.name
Cuilcagh
Mountain.photo
The Ulster Way to Cuilcagh - geograph-3762609.jpg
Mountain.photo_caption
Northern slopes
Mountain.elevation_m
666
Mountain.prominence_m
570
Mountain.listing
County Top (Cavan and Fermanagh), P600, Marilyn, Hewitt
Mountain.translation
"calcareous/chalky peak"
Mountain.location
County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and County Cavan, Republic of Ireland
Mountain.map
Northern Ireland
Mountain.map_relief
yes
Mountain.map_caption
Location in Ulster
Mountain.grid_ref_Ireland
H123280
Mountain.topo
OSi Discovery 26
Mountain.easiest_route
Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail (Stairway to Heaven)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Elevation
665
Image
Cuilcagh, Fermanagh - 33673331471.jpg
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Cuilcagh Mountain
topographic prominence
606
native label
Binn Chuilceach
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Article

11 sections
Contents
  • Naming
  • Nature
  • Conservation
  • Ramsar site
  • Geopark
  • Boardwalk trail{{anchor|Boardwalk trail}}
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • Further reading
  • References
  • External links

Cuilcagh () is a mountain on the border between County Fermanagh (in Northern Ireland) and County Cavan (in the Republic of Ireland). With a height of it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of Ireland, and Ireland's only cross-border county top. Water from the southern slope flows underground until it emerges some miles away in the Shannon Pot, the traditional source of the River Shannon. The area is sometimes referred to as the Cuilcagh Mountains.

==Naming== The name Cuilcagh comes from the Irish Cuilceach, which has been translated as "chalky". However, the mountain is mainly sandstone and shale, covered with bog and heather. The cliff-edged summit surface of the mountain is formed from the hard-wearing Lackagh Sandstone which itself overlies the Briscloonagh Sandstone. "It is possible that the name refers to the limestone rock on the lower northern flanks, namely the Glencar and Dartry Limestone formations. Here a number of streams disappear below ground at swallow holes named Cats Hole, Pollawaddy, Pollasumera and Polliniska, all forming part of the Marble Arch cave system. If so, the name would mean 'calcareous' rather than 'chalky. It has also been called Slieve Cuilcagh in English, 'Slieve' being an anglicisation of Sliabh ("mountain").

On the map

2 mapped locations

Connections

Categories