Birreencorragh West Top

Tucked within the rugged Nephin Begs of County Mayo, this quartzite spur offers a wilder perspective of the range. Situated west of the main Birreencorragh massif, the terrain is characteristically boggy and remote. It serves as an essential vantage point for surveying the vast, uninhabited Nephin Beg Wilderness to the west.

• •The name Birreencorragh is derived from the Irish 'Boirinn Chorrach', meaning 'rugged, stony place', which accurately describes the fractured quartzite terrain found across this spur and the main summit.
• •Most walkers visit this top as part of the challenging Glendahurk horseshoe, a circuit that provides a quieter, more isolated alternative to the popular Nephin ascent further east.
• •The summit offers an exceptional view over the Owenduff River valley and the vast blanket bogs of the Bangor Trail, widely considered the most remote landscape in Ireland.
• •Navigation here requires care; the ridge connecting this top to the main peak of Birreencorragh is often flanked by steep, slippery ground that can be disorienting when the Atlantic mists roll in.
• •In the Nephin Begs, the term 'ground' is often an optimistic description for what is essentially a vertical bog that has forgotten how to drain.