Slieve Donard

About Slieve Donard

Rising abruptly from the Irish Sea above Newcastle, Northern Ireland’s highest peak offers a rugged, rewarding ascent. The route typically follows the Glen River before meeting the iconic Mourne Wall. Its broad, stony summit features ancient cairns and provides a commanding vantage point over the entire range and across the water.

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Did You Know?

• •The name originates from the Irish 'Sliabh Dónairt', referring to Saint Donard. A follower of Saint Patrick, he is said to have established a hermitage on the summit in the 5th century, with local tradition once suggesting he said Mass there every Easter Sunday.
• •The summit is home to two ancient burial cairns. The larger of the two is the Great Cairn, which is identified as the highest Neolithic passage tomb ever discovered in Ireland, despite centuries of weathering and interference by later visitors.
• •A defining feature of the ascent is the Mourne Wall, a 22-mile dry stone boundary built between 1904 and 1922. It was constructed by the Belfast Water Commissioners to protect the water catchment area for the Silent Valley Reservoir from livestock.
• •The peak served as a vital station for the Ordnance Survey’s Principal Triangulation in 1826. Royal Engineers camped on the summit for four months to conduct measurements, connecting the survey of Ireland with that of Great Britain across the Irish Sea.
• •On a day of high visibility, the summit offers a rare panoramic reach. Beyond the immediate granite peaks of the Mournes like Slieve Commedagh, you can see the Wicklow Mountains to the south, the Isle of Man to the east, and the distinctive profile of Ailsa Craig off the Scottish coast.
• •The Mourne Wall acts as an uncompromising navigational guide; it never meets a vertical gradient it doesn't want to climb directly, often leaving walkers to wonder why the early 20th-century stonemasons didn't believe in the concept of a zig-zag.