Maghera [An Machaire]

Dominating the Slieve Aughty range, this Marilyn is most easily identified by the towering telecommunications mast that crowns its plateau. While the service road provides a functional ascent, the peat-covered summit offers a sprawling panorama across Lough Derg and towards the limestone hills of the Burren.

• •The name derives from the Irish 'An Machaire', meaning 'the plain', a reference to the expansive, relatively level plateau that defines the top of the Slieve Aughty Mountains.
• •The summit is occupied by a 147-metre-tall television transmitter; built in 1962, it was one of the first high-power stations used to bring national television to the west of Ireland.
• •With over 300 metres of prominence, it qualifies as a Marilyn, standing as the highest point in this section of County Clare and offering clear sightlines to the Galtee Mountains in the south.
• •Climbers often prefer the service road for a dry approach, as the surrounding Slieve Aughty terrain is notorious for deep, clumpy peat hags and heavy saturation after rain.
• •The towering mast ensures you are unlikely to experience a moment of true mountain solitude, though the red aircraft warning lights do provide a useful navigational aid for anyone caught out after sunset.