Tibradden Mountain [Sliabh Thigh Brodain]

Tibradden Mountain

Overview

Tibradden is a 466.2 m granite hill in the Dublin Mountains. Pine Forest covers its lower slopes; open heather, blanket bog and rock occupy the upper ground. The summit area looks over Dublin and Dublin Bay and contains a prehistoric burial cairn. The precise highest-point feature is not recorded in the Database of British and Irish Hills.

Walking routes

Tibradden summit return from Pine Forest

Start and finish at Tibradden Wood car park beside the R116. Follow the red-waymarked mountain trail through the forest and onto the open ridge to the summit area and cairn. Retrace the same approach to the car park. The signed through-trail continues beyond the cairn, so turn back here for this summit-only walk.

Tibradden and Fairy Castle return

Follow the same approach to Tibradden, then continue southeast on the Dublin Mountains Way. Join the shared Wicklow Way section and follow the named Dublin Mountains Way signs towards Fairy Castle on Two Rock Mountain. Return over Tibradden by reversing the whole route to the original car park. At shared yellow-hiker waymarks, check the route-name plaques carefully.

These are complete out-and-back descriptions. Published trail distances differ and do not clearly describe the same return itinerary, so no distance, ascent or duration is assigned here. The Fairy Castle extension needs more time and upland preparation than the Tibradden-only return.

Cairn and name

The cairn is a protected prehistoric burial monument. Its 1849 excavation revealed a cist with Bronze Age pottery and cremated remains; later conservation altered its appearance. A possible earlier Neolithic origin remains uncertain. Niall Dhú’s supposed burial here is a local tradition, not established archaeology. Leave the monument and its stones undisturbed.

Tibradden derives from Tigh Bródáin, usually translated as “Brodáin’s House”.

Access and facilities

Use the signed Pine Forest car park off the R116. Parking is free. Coillte and Dublin Mountains Partnership currently publish conflicting seasonal gate hours: check the signs at the entrance and current notices, and return before the posted closing time. These are car-park restrictions, not evidence of identical pedestrian opening hours.

TFI Local Link SD4 links Tallaght Luas with the stop outside Tibradden Wood on Saturdays only. Check the operator’s current timetable and arrange your return journey. Take care at the roadside and crossing the R116.

There are picnic facilities and walking trails. There are no general public toilets or bins; the on-site Zipit compost toilets are for its customers. Bring water and take rubbish home.

Safety and conservation

Wet granite, uneven paths and boardwalks may be slippery. Carry suitable footwear, waterproofs and navigation for the open ridge, particularly in mist or wind. Snow and ice may close the car park at short notice; do not enter forests during a Met Éireann Red wind warning. Follow forestry closures and current signs. Keep dogs on leads around livestock and ground-nesting birds, and stay on established paths.

Sources

Checked 17 October 2026. Publication or update dates are distinct from this check; the DoBIH row revision is 11 December 2021.

• Coillte: Tibradden Wood and trail map
• Dublin Mountains Partnership: access and facilities
• Heritage Ireland: Tibradden Cairn
• Abarta Heritage: archaeology and retraced returns
• Local Link: current SD4 timetable
• Sport Ireland: Tibradden Mountain Trail
• DoBIH / Hill-bagging: summit record 21295