Tibradden Mountain
Encyclopedia
Tibradden Mountain is a mountain in County Dublin
in Ireland
. Other names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" (a reference to Kilmainham
Priory which once owned the lands around the mountain). It is 467 metres (1,532.2 ft) high and is the 561st highest mountain in Ireland. It forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock
, Three Rock, Kilmashogue
and Tibradden Mountains. The views from the summit encompass Dublin to the north, Two Rock to the east and the Wicklow Mountains
to the south and west. The geological composition is mainly granite
and the southern slopes are strewn with granite boulders. The summit area is a habitat for heather
, furze, gorse
and bilberry
as well as Sika deer
, fox
es and badger
s. The forestry plantation on the slopes – known as the Pine Forest – contains Scots pine
, Japanese larch
, European larch
, Sitka spruce
, oak
and beech
. The mountain is also a site of archaeological interest with a prehistoric burial site close to the summit.
. It was excavated in 1849 by members of the Royal Irish Academy
who found a stone-lined cist
containing a pottery vessel and cremated remains, now preserved by the National Museum of Ireland
in Dublin. In its present form, the site consists of an open circular chamber
10 feet (3 m) in diameter with a narrow passage. For many years, it was believed that this monument was a passage grave
and the author Robert Graves
refers to it as such in his poetic mythological work The White Goddess
(1948). However, conservation work done at the site in 1956 revealed that the chamber and passage were not original features but had probably been created at the time of the original excavation in the nineteenth century. A stone bench was also found in the centre, apparently built for the convenience of visitors to the site. It is now accepted that the monument is in fact a chambered cairn
with a cist burial at the centre. The site may be the burial place of Bródáin, after whom the mountain is named. The monument is not at the summit of the mountain but is located slightly to the north at a position where the view across Dublin Bay
to Howth
is not obscured by Two Rock. Within the chamber itself lies a stone with a spiral pattern.
On the southern slopes, along the R116 road
is a stone with the inscription, “O'Connell's Rock, 23 July 1823”. Daniel O'Connell
gave an address to the local populace from this rock as they celebrated Garland Sunday
that year.
hiking trail that runs between Shankill
and Tallaght
while the Wicklow Way
hiking trail runs to the southeast of the summit. The first part of the Dublin Mountains Way to be completed was the section linking Tibradden, Kilmashogue and Cruagh forests and a dedication plaque marking its opening on 19 June 2009 by Mr Éamon Ó Cuív
, T. D.
, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
can be found along the route of the Way in the Pine Forest.
There is another dedication plaque in the Pine Forest, near the car park, marking the inauguration of the Dublin Mountains Partnership on 24 October 2008 by Mr Eamon Ryan
, T. D., Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Other names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" (a reference to Kilmainham
Kilmainham
Kilmainham is a suburb of Dublin south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre, in the Dublin 8 postal district.-History:In the Viking era, the monastery was home to the first Norse base in Ireland....
Priory which once owned the lands around the mountain). It is 467 metres (1,532.2 ft) high and is the 561st highest mountain in Ireland. It forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock
Two Rock
Two Rock is a mountain in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland. It is high and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland. It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the...
, Three Rock, Kilmashogue
Kilmashogue
Kilmashogue is a mountain in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County in Ireland. It is high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The forest plantation on its northern slope, which is composed mainly of Sitka...
and Tibradden Mountains. The views from the summit encompass Dublin to the north, Two Rock to the east and the Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into Counties Carlow, Wexford and Dublin. Where the mountains extend into County Dublin, they are known locally as the Dublin Mountains...
to the south and west. The geological composition is mainly granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and the southern slopes are strewn with granite boulders. The summit area is a habitat for heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
, furze, gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
and bilberry
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
as well as Sika deer
Sika Deer
The Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es and badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
s. The forestry plantation on the slopes – known as the Pine Forest – contains Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
, Japanese larch
Japanese Larch
Japanese Larch is a species of larch native to Japan, in the mountains of Chūbu and Kantō regions in central Honshū....
, European larch
European Larch
Larix decidua, common name European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathians, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania.-Description:...
, Sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
. The mountain is also a site of archaeological interest with a prehistoric burial site close to the summit.
Prehistoric monuments
Close to the summit is a prehistoric burial site. Local tradition associates it, incorrectly, with Niall GlúndubNiall Glúndub
Niall Glúndub mac Áedo was a 10th century Irish king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. While many Irish kin groups were members of the Uí Néill, tracing their descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages , the O'Neill dynasty took their name from Niall Glúndub rather than the earlier Niall...
. It was excavated in 1849 by members of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
who found a stone-lined cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
containing a pottery vessel and cremated remains, now preserved by the National Museum of Ireland
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.-Archaeology:...
in Dublin. In its present form, the site consists of an open circular chamber
10 feet (3 m) in diameter with a narrow passage. For many years, it was believed that this monument was a passage grave
Passage grave
thumb|250px|right|A simple passage tomb in [[Carrowmore]] near [[Sligo]] in IrelandA passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. Megaliths are usually used in the construction of passage tombs, which...
and the author Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
refers to it as such in his poetic mythological work The White Goddess
The White Goddess
The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, based on earlier articles published in Wales magazine, corrected, revised and enlarged editions appeared in 1948, 1952 and 1961...
(1948). However, conservation work done at the site in 1956 revealed that the chamber and passage were not original features but had probably been created at the time of the original excavation in the nineteenth century. A stone bench was also found in the centre, apparently built for the convenience of visitors to the site. It is now accepted that the monument is in fact a chambered cairn
Chambered cairn
A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a cairn of stones inside which a sizeable chamber was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves....
with a cist burial at the centre. The site may be the burial place of Bródáin, after whom the mountain is named. The monument is not at the summit of the mountain but is located slightly to the north at a position where the view across Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south...
to Howth
Howth
Howth is an area in Fingal County near Dublin city in Ireland. Originally just a small fishing village, Howth with its surrounding rural district is now a busy suburb of Dublin, with a mix of dense residential development and wild hillside, all on the peninsula of Howth Head. The only...
is not obscured by Two Rock. Within the chamber itself lies a stone with a spiral pattern.
Other sites of historical interest
The antiquarian Weston St. John Joyce described a carving of a cross and a crowned figure with upraised arms on one of the rocks to the south of the summit. This feature was also documented and photographed by the archaeologist Patrick Healy. Although the cross is in an early Christian style, Joyce and Healy both surmised it and the figure to have been carved at some time in the nineteenth century. The carvings do not appear to have survived to the present day.On the southern slopes, along the R116 road
R116 road
The R116 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs east-west from the N11 at Loughlinstown to the R115 in Ballyboden. It runs through the South of County Dublin for its entire length...
is a stone with the inscription, “O'Connell's Rock, 23 July 1823”. Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
gave an address to the local populace from this rock as they celebrated Garland Sunday
Garland Sunday
Reek Sunday , is the annual national pilgrimage of Ireland. On the last Sunday of the month of July, pilgrims climb Ireland's holiest mountain, Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, traditionally in their bare feet. The pilgrimage has taken place annually for around 1,500 years...
that year.
Access and recreation
Access to the mountain is possible via the Pine Forest, a Coillte-owned forest recreation area on the slopes of the mountain which is managed by the Dublin Mountains Partnership. Tibradden is also traversed by the Dublin Mountains WayDublin Mountains Way
The Dublin Mountains Way is a waymarked long-distance trail in the Dublin Mountains, County Dublin, Ireland. The route is approximately long and runs from Shankill in the East to Tallaght in the West...
hiking trail that runs between Shankill
Shankill, Dublin
Shankill is a suburb in the South-East of Dublin located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It has a population of 13,242 .-History:-Name:...
and Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
while the Wicklow Way
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 designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the Irish Sports...
hiking trail runs to the southeast of the summit. The first part of the Dublin Mountains Way to be completed was the section linking Tibradden, Kilmashogue and Cruagh forests and a dedication plaque marking its opening on 19 June 2009 by Mr Éamon Ó Cuív
Éamon Ó Cuív
Éamon Ó Cuív is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency since 1992 and was previously a member of Seanad Éireann.-Early life:...
, T. D.
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is a senior minister at the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is Frances Fitzgerald, TD.-Overview:...
can be found along the route of the Way in the Pine Forest.
There is another dedication plaque in the Pine Forest, near the car park, marking the inauguration of the Dublin Mountains Partnership on 24 October 2008 by Mr Eamon Ryan
Eamon Ryan
Eamon Ryan is an Irish politician and leader of the Irish Green Party. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency from 2002 to 2011, and served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2007 to 2011....
, T. D., Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.