Ben of Howth [Binn Eadair]

About Ben of Howth [Binn Eadair]

Rising above the village of Howth, this modest Marilyn offers a wilder landscape of gorse and heather than its suburban surroundings suggest. Though only 171 metres high, its position as the peninsula’s high point provides a rugged, maritime character with expansive views across Dublin Bay toward the Wicklow Mountains.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Howth is a remnant of the region's Viking past, derived from the Old Norse Hǫfuð, meaning 'head'. Its Irish name, Binn Éadair, refers to the peak of Éadar, a figure from mythology said to have died of a broken heart.
• •Though it feels like a fixed part of the coastline, the peninsula was once a true island; it is now tethered to the mainland by a narrow tombolo of sand and shingle at Sutton.
• •The summit provides a superb vantage point for spotting local landmarks, specifically the uninhabited island of Ireland’s Eye to the north and the jagged silhouette of the Muglins and Dalkey Island across the bay to the south.
• •Climbers looking for the true summit will need to move away from the popular cliff paths and head through the inland heathland, where the terrain is marked by a prominent telecommunications mast that serves as a useful navigation aid from afar.
• •It is perhaps the only Marilyn in Ireland where the greatest navigational hazard is not the weather or the terrain, but the risk of being distracted by the smell of fresh seafood drifting up from the harbour restaurants below.