The Furths

David Smith

The Scottish word ‘Furth’ means ‘beyond’ or ‘outside of and to the Munroist distinguishes people who have ascended all the 3000 foot mountains outside Scotland in the British Isles. I first discovered the word in the Munro Tables. It was the attraction of the Alps and the Scottish hills that obscured any incentive to go to Ireland. Only when I had the Scottish Munros behind me did it dawn on me that it would be tidy to add the Irish mountains to my Munro collection.

My English and Welsh three thousanders were both as a result of YRC Long Walks in the Fifties. The Scottish three thousanders were inspired by the Club’s Whit Meet in 1983, the brain child of Peter Swindells. It was then that I discovered that I had already ascended more than half the mountains, mainly on Whit Meets. However it was my wife who got the Irish expedition on the move. She had been there forty years ago without seeing a mountain because of the mist.

Our Scottish Munro season ends with the start of the shooting season. So not being able to accompany my wife on her Munro quest we decided to cross the water. We crossed overnight, sailing at 3.45 am and arriving at 7.30am. In beautiful late summer weather we set off for Glen of Irnaal with a plan to climb the 3030 foot Lugnaquilha, 25 miles south of Dublin in the Wicklow mountains. But it was not to be as the mountain forms part of an army shooting range and the red flags were being displayed.

Cutting our losses we added another hundred road miles to Tipperary. Although we used the main road there was little traffic and what there was moved at a sensible speed with drivers being considerate to others. The road surfaces are not particularly good but we encountered no problems except for a couple of large farm tractors. South of Tipperary is the Glen of Aherlow and Galtymore Mountain at 3018 feet. Despite the loss of sleep we did not feel too drained and with prospect of only 2600 feet of ascent we set off in pleasant weather.

The route took us along a narrow lane, rising 900 feet, followed by a steep moorland walk to the summit of Galtybeg before descending to a col separating it from its larger neighbour. By this time we were in warm soft Irish mist and though rough terrain was making route finding difficult we were making good time. My friends will be interested to know that I can and do use a compass and had little difficulty finding the top and retracing our tracks to come out of the mist.

The following day we spent driving in perfect weather to Tralee and on to the Dingle peninsula along country lanes lined with fuchsia bushes. Our objective was the 3127 foot Brandon Mountain via the Hlgiirns route. This was to be the highhght of the holiday. The road from Dingle rises 1800 feet over the Connor Pass through dramatically beautiful wild country speckled with numerous small lochans overlooking the spectacular Brandon Bay.

From the tiny village of An Clochan a narrow lane leads to An Fhaiche where we left the car. The Pilgrims Way is reputed to be the path to Saint Brendan’s Oratory on the mountain summit. An open moorland path leads westwards towards the ridge but, instead of joining the ridge, the path descends into a remarkable cwm containing a string of tiny loughs each sparkling in the simhght. The path rounds the cwm and crosses a jumble of boulders before a steep 900 foot climb to gain the ridge. A gentle short climb took us to the summit with marvellous Atlantic vistas.

We spent the next three days in Killorglin on the Kerry peninsula dominated by our next objective, the Macgillycuddy Reeks. Our route started at lough Acoose across rough unmarked ground rising to 1581 feet where we found the start of the main ridge. It was misty but quite warm. Our recently discovered wind shirts proved adequate so the light rain did not necessitate waterproofs.

The broad ridge soon changes into a precipitous ridge of Skye-like proportions. The rock is of rough red sandstone and vegetation gives it a character of its own. Caher mountain has two distinct summits to be traversed before reaching Ireland’s highest peak, Carrauntoohil at 3414 feet. We were denied the views of Comloughra Glen and Curraghmore lake but visibility was good enough for route finding not to be too difficult. A series of tops along the Beenkeragh ridge ending the lake led us back to our starting point.

The final phase of our expedition was back in the Wicklow mountains. A telephone call to the army resulted in a positive answer and an invitation to enjoy our day. We first had a walk up to the monastic village of Saint Kevin and the most beautiful Glendaloughs in the National park. Lugnaquilha is a veiy straight forward mountain and has a steady path over farmland and heather slopes to its siimmit. It was a relaxing ascent but in no way an anticlimax after the more taxing day on the Reeks.

Ireland is such an easy-going place, the people are so helpful, the roads are uncrowded, the scenery is magnificent and, given clement weather, has all the ingredients for a pleasant active but relaxing holiday. We will certainly go again.