Devilsbit Mountain [Bearnan Eile]

Rising abruptly from the Tipperary plains near Templemore, this distinctive sandstone peak is defined by the deep gap in its summit ridge. A popular climb via the forest tracks of Barnane, it offers a dramatic panorama over the Golden Vale, extending toward the Slieve Bloom Mountains and Keeper Hill.

• •The Irish name Bearnán Éile translates as the 'little gapped hill of Éile', referring to the local medieval kingdom. Folklore suggests the gap was formed when the Devil took a bite out of the ridge and broke his tooth; he supposedly spat the piece out twenty miles south to create the Rock of Cashel.
• •The summit is marked by a large steel cross, which was erected in 1954 to mark the Marian Year. It is illuminated at night and serves as a significant local landmark visible from the main Dublin-to-Cork railway line.
• •On a smaller peak just east of the main summit stands a derelict 19th-century stone tower known as the 'Crow’s Nest'. It was built by the Carden family, the former local landlords, as a lookout and a focal point for their estate at Barnane.
• •Despite its modest height of 480 metres, the hill's isolated position provides a vast view that can encompass eight different counties on a clear day, with the Galtee Mountains clearly visible to the south.
• •Geologists find the local legend of the Devil's 'bite' somewhat suspect, noting that it would require a miraculous digestive system to chew through the hill's Old Red Sandstone and spit out the Carboniferous Limestone found at Cashel.