Slievemore [An Sliabh Mor]

Slievemore, Achill [An Sliabh Mór]

Slievemore, An Sliabh Mór, is a 669 m mountain on Achill Island in County Mayo. The west-ridge walk from the Deserted Village reaches a trig-point summit above Atlantic coastal scenery. The island's Slievemore is distinct from other Irish hills with the same name.

Summit and geology

The recorded summit feature is a trig point. The west-ridge guide also describes a shelter cairn a little beyond it; the cairn is not a substitute for the recorded summit location.

Geological Survey Ireland describes Dalradian metamorphic bedrock on Achill's north coast and identifies the Slievemore Psammitic Formation. The National Parks and Wildlife Service describes pre-Cambrian schists and gneisses at Slievemore. These broad-area accounts do not establish the exact summit rock contact; a granite-and-limestone description is unsupported.

Walking routes

Deserted Village and west ridge, same-way return

Start at the parking by the graveyard below the Deserted Village. Follow the village track before leaving it to climb pathless ground onto the broad west ridge. Continue past the rock band and small lochan, then negotiate the steeper and boggier upper ground to the summit trig point. Return by retracing the same west-ridge line, rock-band passage and village track to the original graveyard parking. Get Lost Mountaineering records 8 km and about 4 hours for this complete return, from an outing on 5 September 2018; no total ascent is supplied. Current local access and parking must be checked. https://getlostmountaineering.co.uk/walks.php?id=1022

Terrain, views and safety

The west-ridge outing starts on a track through the Deserted Village, then crosses pathless grassy ground, a rock band, steeper slopes and boggy upper terrain with outcrops.

The route guide describes wide seascape views in clear weather, with some higher mainland peaks visible when conditions are particularly clear. Visibility is weather-dependent.

Pathless ground and broad upper slopes require mountain navigation, especially in Atlantic mist. The west-ridge route crosses a rock band, boggy ground and steeper sections; retrace the line you can safely negotiate. Check weather and daylight, carry warm and waterproof layers, food, water and navigation equipment, and turn back if conditions exceed your ability. For a mountain emergency call 999 or 112, ask for Gardaí/Police, then Mountain Rescue. Mobile coverage is not assured.

These are source-based route outlines, not turn-by-turn navigation or a current access or conditions check. Carry appropriate mapping and navigation equipment.

Access and facilities

The 2018 west-ridge account starts at parking by the graveyard below the Deserted Village, approached from Keel. Check current local permission and notices, and keep the graveyard entrance and funeral access clear. Present capacity, fees and availability have not been verified.

Bring food and water for the mountain outing. Current toilets, refreshments and business opening hours at the start have not been verified. Access can depend on landowner goodwill, so check local circumstances and follow notices; general commonage descriptions do not establish unrestricted public access.

A current trailhead public-transport service and last return have not been verified; check before travelling.

Name and history

Paul Tempan gives An Sliabh Mór, meaning the big mountain, for the Achill and County Mayo entry at F650086.

Achill Archaeological Field School records dry-stone byre-house remains at the Deserted Village and 137 houses on the 1838 Ordnance Survey map. Separate excavations above the village identified Bronze Age roundhouses. These lower-slope remains are not summit archaeology, and the evidence does not justify a single-cause story of abandonment.