Diamond Hill (Ireland)

For other uses, see Diamond Hill (disambiguation).
Diamond Hill
Binn Ghuaire

Diamond Hill from Connemara National Park visitor centre.
Elevation 442 m (1,450 ft)[1]
Prominence 277 m (909 ft)[1]
Listing Marilyn
Translation Ghuaire's peak
Location
Diamond Hill

County Galway, Ireland

OSI/OSNI grid L67272
Coordinates 53°32′53.93″N 9°54′52.20″W / 53.5483139°N 9.9145000°WCoordinates: 53°32′53.93″N 9°54′52.20″W / 53.5483139°N 9.9145000°W[1]
Climbing
Easiest route Hike

Diamond Hill (Irish: Binn Ghuaire)[2] is a large hill south-east of Letterfrack in County Galway, Ireland.

Geography

Diamond Hill from Kylemore Lough.
Diamond Hill in October 1987.
The summit - August 2013

The 442-metre (1,450 ft) high hill stands in a prominent position between the Ballinakill harbour (West) and the Twelve Bens range (East).

The top of the hill hosts a large cairn. It offers a view on a long stretch of Irish Atlantic coast, the Twelve Bens and the isles of Inishboffin and Inishark.[3]

Name

The English meaning of Binn Ghuaire is Ghuaire's peak; Guaire Aidne (died 663) was a king of Connacht. The hill was also known as Bengooria, an aglicized form of the Irich name.[4]

Access to the summit

The walk which leads from the National Park visitor centre (Letterfrack) up to the summit does not require any special hiking hability, but is advisable wearing a proper outdoor clothing and being reasonably well trained.[5] The complete signposed walk is composed of a lower Diamond Hill Walk (3 km long) and an Upper Diammond Hill Walk (3.7 km long) which reaches the summit.[6] Diamonf Hill is a popular walking destination and attracts both Irish hikers and foreign tourists.[3]

Conservation

Diamond hill and its surrounding area is part of the Connemara National Park.

See also

Other projects

Media related to Diamond Hill (Ireland) at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Twelve Bens Area". MountainViews. Ordnance Survey Ireland. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. "Binn Ghuaire". Placenames Database of Ireland. Dublin City University. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Christopher Somerville (August 28, 2010). "Walk of the week: Diamond Hill, Connemara, Co Galway". Irish Independent (Dublin). Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  4. Paul Tempan (February 2012). Irish Hill and Mountain Names (PDF). Mountaineering.ie (Mountaineering Ireland). Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  5. "Guided Walks from Walk Connemara". Walk Connemara. Paul Phelan. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  6. Connemara National Park Trails (PDF). Connemara Natrional Park (Connemara National Park). Retrieved February 6, 2015.