View source for Cuilcagh

{{short description|Mountain in Ireland}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Cuilcagh
| native_name = {{native name|ga|Binn Chuilceach}}
| photo = The Ulster Way to Cuilcagh - geograph-3762609.jpg
| photo_caption = Northern slopes
| elevation_m = 666
| elevation_ref = <ref name=mviews>{{cite web|url=http://mountainviews.ie/summit/89/|title=Cuilcagh/Cuilcagh Mountains|publisher=[[MountainViews Online Database]]|access-date=27 November 2019}}</ref>
| prominence_m = 570
| prominence_ref = <ref name=mviews/>
| parent_peak =
| range = 
| listing = [[List of Irish counties by highest point|County Top (Cavan and Fermanagh)]], [[P600 (hill)|P600]], [[Marilyn (hill)|Marilyn]], [[Hewitt (hill)|Hewitt]]
| translation = "[[calcareous]]/chalky peak"
| pronunciation = {{IPA|ga|ˌbʲiːn̠ʲ ˈxɪlʲcəx|lang}}<br />{{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|k|ʌ|l|k|ə}}
| location = [[County Fermanagh]], Northern Ireland and [[County Cavan]], Republic of Ireland
| map = Northern Ireland
| map_relief = yes
| map_caption = Location in Ulster
| coordinates = {{coord|54.200|N|7.811|W|type:mountain_region:IE|display=inline}}
| grid_ref_Ireland = H123280
| topo = [[Ordnance Survey of Ireland|OSi]] ''Discovery'' 26
| easiest_route = Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail (''Stairway to Heaven'')
| embedded = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Cuilcagh Mountain
| designation1_date = 31 December 1998
| designation1_number = 968<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cuilcagh Mountain|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/968|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
}}
'''Cuilcagh''' ({{Irish derived place name|Binn Chuilceach|chalky peak}}<ref name="Placenames">{{Cite web|url=http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=13096|title=Place Names NI - Home|website=www.placenamesni.org|access-date=4 August 2021|archive-date=25 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033305/http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=13096|url-status=dead}}</ref>) is a mountain on the border between [[County Fermanagh]] (in [[Northern Ireland]]) and [[County Cavan]] (in the [[Republic of Ireland]]). With a height of {{convert|666|m|ft}} it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of Ireland, and Ireland's only [[Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border|cross-border]] county top.<ref name=ranging>{{cite web |url=http://mountainviews.ie/mv/index.php?mtnindex=165 |title=Cuilcagh |publisher=Mountainviews.ie |access-date=19 May 2007}}</ref> 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'''.<ref name=mviews/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/blow-off-the-christmas-cabin-fever-with-a-walk-for-the-season-1.4093574|title=Blow off the Christmas cabin-fever with a walk for the season|author=John G. O'Dwyer|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=26 November 2019|access-date=27 November 2019|quote=Generally known as the Stairway to Heaven, this consists of a well-constructed new trail that conveys walkers high into the Cuilcagh Mountains.}}</ref>

==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 [[Leitrim Group#Lackagh Sandstone Formation|Lackagh Sandstone]] which itself overlies the [[Leitrim Group#Briscloonagh Sandstone Formation|Briscloonagh Sandstone]]. "It is possible that the name refers to the limestone rock on the lower northern flanks, namely the [[Glencar Limestone|Glencar]] and [[Dartry Limestone|Dartry Limestone formations]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/GSNI_Geoindex/home.html|title=GSNI GeoIndex|website=mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk}}</ref> 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 Caves|Marble Arch cave system]]. If so, the name would mean '[[calcareous]]' rather than 'chalky{{' "}}.<ref name="tempan">Tempan, Paul. [http://mountainviews.ie/features/names/List2010/MVHillList09.pdf Irish Hill and Mountain Names]. MountainViews.ie.</ref> It has also been called Slieve Cuilcagh in English,<ref>{{cite book |title=A Gazetteer of the World: Volume 3 |last=Fullarton |first=A |year=1856 |publisher=[[Royal Geographical Society]] |page=527 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srgNAAAAQAAJ&q=%22slieve+cuilcagh%22&pg=PA527}}</ref> 'Slieve' being an anglicisation of ''Sliabh'' ("mountain").

In the 1609 [[Plantation of Ulster]], Cuilcagh formed part of lands which were granted to John Sandford of [[Castle Doe]] by letters patent dated 7 July 1613 (Pat. 11 James I – LXXI – 38, ''Quilkagh'').<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD5JAAAAcAAJ&q=Glangewley&pg=PA257|title = Calendar of the Patent Rolls of the Chancery of Ireland|last1 = Chancery|first1 = Ireland|year = 1800}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770846|title=Calendar of the state papers, relating to Ireland, of the reign of James I. 1603-1625. Preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office, and elsewhere|date=4 August 1872|publisher=London, Longman|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> It was later sold by Sandford to his wife's uncle [[Toby Caulfeild, 1st Baron Caulfeild]], Master of the Ordnance and Caulfield had the sale confirmed by letters patent of 12 July 1620 (Pat. 19 James I. XI. 45, ''Quilkagh'').

==Nature==
The Cuilcagh area supports a rich assemblage of upland insects, and is one of the most important sites in Ireland for these species. Species recorded include the water beetles ''Agabus melanarius'', ''Agabus arcticus'', ''Dytiscus lapponicus'', ''Stictotarsus multilineatus'', ''Hydroporus longicornis'' and ''Hydroporus morio'' and the water bugs ''Glaenocorisa propinqua'' and ''Callicorixa wollastoni''. Lough Atona is the main locality for these species.<ref name=JNCC>{{cite web | title=Designated and Proposed Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland | work=Joint Nature Conservation Committee | url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/RIS/UK12005.pdf | access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref>

==Conservation==
The '''Cuilcagh Mountain Park''' was opened by [[Fermanagh District Council]] in 1998.<ref name=euro-geoparks>{{cite web| title=Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark – IRELAND| publisher=[[European Geoparks Network]]| url=http://www.europeangeoparks.org/?page_id=443| access-date=16 August 2014}}</ref>

===Ramsar site===
The Cuilcagh Mountain Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the [[Ramsar Convention]]), is 2744.45 hectares in area, at latitude 54 13 26 N and longitude 07 48 17 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 31 December 1998.

===Geopark===
{{main|Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark}}
In 2001 the Cuilcagh Mountain Park was joined with popular tourist attraction the [[Marble Arch Caves]] and the [[Cladagh Glen]] Nature Reserve to make one of the first [[UNESCO]]-recognised European Geoparks.<ref name=euro-geoparks /> This became a Global Geopark in 2004. In September 2008 the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark was expanded into County Cavan, making it the world's first transnational cross-border Geopark.<ref name=euro-geoparks /> The Geopark is protected and managed by [[Fermanagh and Omagh District Council|Fermanagh & Omagh District Council]] through the staff of the Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre.<ref name=euro-geoparks />

==Boardwalk trail{{anchor|Boardwalk trail}}==
{{see also|Lists of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland#Boarded mountain paths}}
[[File:Cuilcagh, Fermanagh - 33673326901.jpg|thumb|Near top of the "Stairway to Heaven", looking back down the trail]]
In 2015, the '''Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail''' or '''Cuilcagh Legnabrocky Trail''' (also called "The Stairway to Heaven") was opened up to preserve and protect the underlying peatland bog from erosion; however, the trail led to a dramatic rise in visitors to Cuilcagh from circa 3,000 per annum to over 60,000.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2017/05/02/fermanaghs-stairway-to-heaven-social-media-star/ | title=Why this 'Stairway to Heaven' in Ireland has become a social media star | publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] | author=Andrea Smith|date=2 May 2017|access-date=7 July 2019|quote=Nicknamed the 'stairway to heaven,’ the boardwalk opened in 2015 with an aim of conserving pristine blanket bog and restoring damaged peatland that had been eroded by people walking through it.}}</ref>  The popularity of the trail has led to concerns over the ability of the area to handle the increased visitors to the trail.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/how-fermanaghs-amazing-stairway-to-heaven-has-become-a-victim-of-its-own-success-35664265.html | title=How Fermanagh's amazing 'stairway to heaven' has become a victim of its own success | newspaper=[[Belfast Telegraph]] | author=Chris McCullough | date=29 April 2017 | access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

Starting from the Legnabrocky Car Park (paid parking), the trail is over 6 kilometres long to the top (or over 7 kilometres starting from the nearby Marble Arch Caves car park). The first 5 kilometres are on a wide undulating gravel track, while the final kilometre involves climbing 450 wooden steps to a viewing gallery at the top of the route (which is close to the top of Cuilcagh mountain itself).  Walkers are advised to allow 2.5–3.5 hours to complete the full 12–14 kilometre round-trip journey.<ref>{{cite web | website=Marble Arch Caves | url=https://marblearchcaves.co.uk/attractions/cuilcagh-boardwalk-trail/ | title=The Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail (Stairway to Heaven): Route Information | accessdate=5 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-tv/watch-irelands-very-own-stairway-to-heaven-weekend-walk-anyone-35655658.html|title=WATCH: Ireland's very own Stairway to Heaven! Weekend walk, anyone?|author=Mark McConville|date=17 April 2019|access-date=7 July 2019|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]|quote=The stunning wooden structure is found on Fermanagh's Cuilcagh Way - specifically, along the 7.5&nbsp;km Legnabrocky trail.}}</ref>
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==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Cuilcagh, Fermanagh - 33673332691.jpg|View from the summit
File:Cuilcagh & Benaughlin in November 07.jpg|[[Benaughlin Mountain|Benaughlin]] viewed from South Fermanagh with Cuilcagh on left
File:Cuilcagh, Fermanagh - 33762156926.jpg|Boardwalk section of "Stairway to Heaven"
</gallery>

==See also==
{{commons category|Cuilcagh Mountain}}
*[[Sliabh Beagh]]
*[[Lists of mountains in Ireland]]
*[[Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles]]
*[[List of P600 mountains in the British Isles]]
*[[List of Marilyns in the British Isles]]
*[[List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland]]

{{clear}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite thesis| last=Brown| first=Leslie| year=2005| title=Inception and subsequent development of conduits in the Cuilcagh karst, Ireland| publisher=Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield| url=http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/4658/| access-date=29 July 2012| type=doctoral}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.walkni.com/walks/13653/cuilcagh-boardwalk-trail/ Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail], ''WalkNI'' (2018)
*[https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-tv/watch-irelands-very-own-stairway-to-heaven-weekend-walk-anyone-35655658.html Ireland's own "Stairway to Heaven" (Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail], ''[[Irish Independent]]'' (April 2017)
*[https://www.marblearchcavesgeopark.com/2015/07/cuilcagh-mountain-trail-open/ Cuilcagh Legnabrocky Boarded Mountain Trail], [[Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark]] (July 2015)

{{Mountains of Great Britain and Ireland|}}
{{British hills}}
{{Mountains and hills of Ulster}}
{{Irish long-distance trails}}

[[Category:Mountains and hills of County Fermanagh]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of County Cavan]]
[[Category:Marilyns of Ireland]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border]]
[[Category:International mountains of Europe]]
[[Category:Highest points of Irish counties]]
[[Category:Mountains under 1000 metres]]
[[Category:Karst]]