Mount Brandon
952 m
Ireland
Also known as Monte Brandon, mont Brandon, +3Also known as
Monte Brandon · mont Brandon · Cnoc Bréanainn · гора Брандон · Brandon Mountain
- Elevation
- 952 m
- Prominence
- 934 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- May–Sep
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1The quickest and easiest way up, on the gentle western side: the last section of the medieval pilgrim path from a car park and Marian grotto at Ballybrack, waymarked with white posts and 14 Stations of the Cross to the summit cross and the ruins of St Brendan's oratory. About 7–8 km return and 3–4 hours.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 3.9 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +775 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 952 m
- Time Up
- 3h 04m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 02m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Start at the large car park at the end of a cul-de-sac signposted 'Mt Brandon' in An Baile Breac (Ballybrack), off the R549 about 10 km north-west of Dingle (grid ref. Q 434 094). A Marian grotto and a memorial to those who walked the route seeking a cure for cancer stand at the car park. Cross the bridge at the far end, follow the track uphill with the stream on your left to a gate, then fork left on a grassy path marked with white posts, cross the stream and continue to a pile of rocks with a wooden cross (Q 439 099). The path climbs steadily up grassy, then peaty and stony ground past the Stations of the Cross (the first cross is numbered zero) and a tall standing stone beside the Fourth Station. Higher up it becomes steeper and rockier, veers right, runs alongside a wall and swings back left to the summit plateau, with its large iron cross (1846), the stone ruins of St Brendan's oratory and a small shelter. There is still a short way to go after Station 14. Return the same way. The Stations and posts make it easy to follow in mist, but carry a map and compass all the same: the summit is notorious for cloud, and the cliffs of the east face lie only a few metres beyond the summit. Walking poles help on the rocky upper descent.
Start
Ballybrack car park173 m
- None to the trailhead; buses reach Dingle, about 10 km away.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballybrack car park → Mount Brandon | 3.9 | 775 | 0 | 3h 04m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Ballybrack car park173 m
Grid ref. Q 434 094; Marian grotto
- Feature: First cross (Station 0)300 m
Pile of rocks with a wooden cross after crossing the stream; grid ref. Q 439 099
- Summit: Mount Brandon952 m
Key Passages
- Stations of the Cross
- Rocky upper path along the wall
Equipment
0/5 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
Ireland's highest mountain outside MacGillycuddy's Reeks (952 m) and its second most prominent, a long sandstone ridge at the western end of the Dingle Peninsula. A waymarked pilgrim path climbs the gentle west side; the east side drops in cliffs to a valley of Paternoster lakes.
Mount Brandon (Cnoc Bréanainn, 'Brendan's hill') is the high point of the Brandon Group, a north–south ridge about 10 km long across the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, with Brandon Peak (840 m), Gearhane, Benagh, Faha Ridge, Piaras Mór and Masatiompan among its tops. The rock is Devonian Old Red Sandstone, the oldest in Ireland. Ice-age glaciers carved deep corries and cliffs on the east side, leaving the Coumaknock valley and its chain of Paternoster lakes, while the west side is a broad, grassy slope above the Atlantic.
The mountain is named after St Brendan the Navigator, who by tradition fasted on the summit before his voyage west, and it has been a pilgrimage mountain for centuries. The Saints' Road from Ballybrack, marked by 14 Stations of the Cross, is the easiest ascent (about 8 km return, 3–4 hours). The Faha route from Cloghane through the Paternoster lakes is the classic eastern approach, and the full ridge from the Conor Pass to Masatiompan (15 km) is one of Ireland's best ridge walks.
The summit is famous for cloud: it can disappear in minutes, and the east-face cliffs are only a few metres from the summit cross. Expect strong Atlantic winds on top.
Climbing Notes
Fitness for 850–950 m of ascent and a 4–6 hour day is needed for either route. The Saints' Road is the safest choice in uncertain weather because its Stations and posts are easy to follow; the Faha route's headwall path is steep, loose and confusing in cloud. Carry the OSi Discovery sheet 70 (or the 1:25,000 Mount Brandon map) and a compass, as phone reception on the ridge is unreliable, and check the Met Éireann forecast. Full waterproofs, warm layers and good boots are essential year-round. In winter, snow and ice on the headwall and summit slopes call for an ice axe and crampons. Guided ascents are offered by local walking companies in Dingle and Cloghane.
History
St Brendan, reputedly born in Kerry in 484, is said to have fasted on the mountain for three days and seen a vision of a land to the west before his voyage; the summit carries the stone ruins of an oratory and a large iron cross. The medieval pilgrim route ran from Ventry over the peninsula to the summit, and the pilgrimage may be older than Christianity, possibly a Lughnasadh rite. In 1997 the Heritage Council's Pilgrim Paths project waymarked 18 km of the Cosán na Naomh from Ventry to Ballybrack. The ridge's position caused several Second World War air crashes, including a German Fw 200 Condor that crash-landed on Faha Ridge in 1940 (all six crew survived) and a BOAC Sunderland flying boat in July 1943 in which 10 people died; relics are displayed in O'Connor's Bar in Cloghane.
Season
Best May–Sep- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Good
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Good
- November: Possible
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Short days; gales; snow or ice possible on top
- Feb
- Short days; winter conditions possible
- May
- Often the driest month; long days
- Jul
- Busy at weekends; Faha car park fills early
- Oct
- Shorter days; autumn storms
- Nov
- Wet, windy, short days
- Dec
- Short days; snow or ice possible
Access & Permits
- Rules
- The routes cross private farmland: keep to the paths, close gates and do not block farm access when parking
- The summit and the Stations are places of pilgrimage; respect pilgrims and leave the crosses and oratory undisturbed
- Getting There
Dingle (An Daingean); Cloghane for the Faha route
Kerry Airport (KIR), Farranfore
- Car to Ballybrack: from Dingle take the R549 north-west, then a minor road signposted 'Mt Brandon' to the car park at the road end
- Car to Faha: from Tralee over the Conor Pass or along the north coast to Cloghane, then follow signs for the Brandon ridge walk to the Faha car park (about 40 minutes from Tralee)
- Buses run to Dingle and Tralee; there is no public transport to either trailhead
Hazards
- Weather
- Exposure
- Rockfall