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Slieve Beagh

Slieve Beagh
Bragan Townland Looking northwards
Highest point
Elevation380 m (1,250 ft)[1]
Prominence285 m (935 ft)[1]
ListingCounty Top (Monaghan), Marilyn
Coordinates54°19′08″N 7°15′11″W / 54.319°N 7.253°W / 54.319; -7.253
Naming
English translationmountain of birch
Language of nameIrish
Geography
Slieve Beagh is located in Northern Ireland
Slieve Beagh
Slieve Beagh
Location in Ulster
LocationCounty Monaghan, County Fermanagh, County Tyrone
Parent rangeFermanagh/Tyrone Mountains
OSI/OSNI gridH523436
Official nameSlieve Beagh
Designated28 July 2000
Reference no.1035[2]

Slieve Beagh[pronunciation?] (Irish: Sliabh Beatha)[3] is a mountainous area straddling the border between County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland and County Fermanagh and County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. A point just east of its summit is the highest point in Monaghan; however the true summit is on the Fermanagh-Tyrone border.[1] The point where the three counties meet, is referred to as the "Three County Hollow".[1]

Name

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The original Irish name for the area is Sliabh Beatha, which has been anglicised to Slieve Beagh, but sometimes the two languages are combined to form Sliabh Beagh.[4] According to Irish mythology, the name refers to the mythological figure Bith, who was buried in a cairn on top of the mountain.[5] Although the summit is in fact marked by a cairn, called Doocarn, it is likely that the name's original meaning is "mountain of birch".[5] In County Monaghan, the locals typically refer to the Slieve Beagh as the "Bragan Mountains", taking the name from a townland within the Slieve Beagh.[1]

Geography

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Slieve Beagh has many low, smooth summits. The highest is at 380 metres (1,250 ft) and lies just inside County Fermanagh. The area is mainly blanket bog, with many small lakes and streams throughout. In Northern Ireland, much of Slieve Beagh has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation.[1] The Finn River rises on the slopes of Slieve Beagh.

Bragan Penal Cross, alias Leacht a 'tSagairt.

A large Celtic cross now tops a Mass rock known as Leacht a 'tSagairt ("The Priest's Flagstone") is said in the local oral tradition to mark where a priest hunter shot a Fr. McKenna while saying Mass there on Christmas Day, c.1754. The priest hunter was assassinated soon afterwards near Emyvale by local rapparee leader and folk hero Shane Bernagh.[6] Another oral tradition version of the same events credits the killing to an Yeomanry unit from Clogher and gives the slain priest's name as Father Milligan. The same source also alleges that Shane Bernagh, after learning almost immediately afterwards of the priest's murder while in hiding nearby, "swore that he would have a Yeoman's life for this". Bernagh and his band of rapparees are then alleged to have ambushed the Yeomanry during their return to barracks, killed one of them, and thrown the body into Lough More.[7]

Ramsar site

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The Slieve Beagh Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention), is 1884.68 hectares in area, at latitude 54 20 53 N and longitude 07 11 38 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 14 December 1999. The Ramsar site boundary coincides entirely with that of the Slieve Beagh Area of Special Scientific Interest and the Slieve Beagh Special Area of Conservation.[8]

Vegetation is characterized by sphagnum mosses and ericoid dwarf-shrubs.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Slieve Beagh". MountainViews. Ordnance Survey Ireland. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Slieve Beagh". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Placenames Database of Ireland: Slieve Beagh/Sliabh Beatha". Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Sliabh Beagh Way". sliabhbeaghadventures.ie. Sliabh Beagh Adventures. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b Tempan, Paul. Irish Hill and Mountain Names Archived 2 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine. MountainViews.ie.
  6. ^ Tony Nugent (2013), Were You at the Rock? The History of Mass Rocks in Ireland, The Liffey Press. Pages 200-201.
  7. ^ Edited by Henry Glassie (1985), Irish Folktales, Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library. pp. 218-220.
  8. ^ "Designated and Proposed Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland" (PDF). Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
  9. ^ "Slieve Beagh Ramsar site". NI Environment Agency. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
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