Purple Mountains

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The Purple Mountains are a small mountain range situated in central Kerry in the Republic of Ireland, close to the town of Killarney. There are only a dozen or so peaks in the range, of which only three are named: Purple Mountain, 832m; Tomies Mountain, 735m; and Shehy Mountain, 571m. The mountain range is bounded to the west by the Gap of Dunloe, which separates it from Macgillycuddy's Reeks; to the south and east by the Lakes of Killarney; and to the north by the wide, flat valley of the river Laune. The eastern half of the Purple Mountains are incorporated into Killarney National Park, including Shehy Mountain and the eastern slopes of Tomies Mountain. Within the national park, the lower slopes are clothed in oak forests, some of which are remnants of the primaeval forests that covered Ireland before the arrival of humans.