14. DHS - Mount Errigal

Shrine Forteen: I can see for miles and miles. Location of base car park: 55.029203, -8.106537Speaker: Nikki Bradley, motivational speakerTheme: gathering to climb an icon.N.B: take careful note of Nikki's wise advice on preparing properly to climb Errigal - it is not easy, but it so rewards! In a land famed for its hills, there's one hill that is known far and wide, indeed it was voted Ireland's most iconic mountain by Walking and Hiking Ireland in 2009. Errigal is a 751 metres (2,464 ft) mountain near Gweedore and is the tallest peak of the Derryveagh Mountains and the tallest peak in County Donegal and we think that qualifies it as a shrine for hillwalkers and lovers of the very best view attainable. Errigal is also the most southern, steepest and highest of the mountain chain, called the "Seven Sisters" by locals. The Seven Sisters includes Muckish, Crocknalaragagh, Aghla Beg, Ardloughnabrackbaddy, Aghla More, Mackoght and Errigal. The nearest peak is Mackoght, which is also known as Little Errigal or Wee Errigal (Irish: an Earagail Bheag). The views from the top are spellbinding and from it you will see the full splendour of this most beautiful of counties. Look out for the pinkish glow of its quartzite in the setting sun. The car park that most people use to park up for Errigal is where we've dropped the flag on our map - it's located on the R251. From here you can pretty much see your route ahead as Mount Errigal is above to the left and Mackoght to the right.The nearby Clanree hotel in Letterkenny is not only the location for Daniel O'Donnell's huge wedding in 2002, but allegedly where Republicans sat in congress to vote for the Peace Process. However, worth noting from a recent documentary on Martin McGuinness, he convinced Gerry Adams of the case for laying down arms while ascending Mount Errigal. URL: Nikki BradleyAudio taken from Donegal's Hallowed Sites on the Racontour Archive.Spotify URL: Donegal's Hallowed Sites playlist on Spotify