Slieve Gallion

Slieve Gallion is a mountain in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It stands at the eastern edge of the Sperrin Mountains and overlooks Lough Neagh. The mountain reaches 528 metres and has a flat top with a telecommunications mast on its northeastern summit. A small road leads to the mast, which stands 496 metres above sea level. By road, the mountain is 6.4 kilometres from Moneymore, 13 kilometres from Cookstown and 13 kilometres from Magherafelt. It lies across three parishes: Desertmartin, Lissan and Ballinascreen. The mountain is a volcanic plug made of igneous rock and granite on its southern slopes. Blanket bog and coniferous forest cover its western side, mostly Sitka spruce with lodgepole pine and oak towards the south. Irish hares, curlews, red grouse and otters live in the area, which the Northern Ireland Planning Service classifies as an area of High Scenic Value. Peat began forming here around 10,000 years ago, and pollen records show plants grew on the slopes 7,000 years ago. Slieve Gallion was first mentioned in the 7th-century Book of Armagh as Collunt Patricii, meaning ‘the height of Saint Patrick’. Local legend calls it ‘Callan’s mountain’ and says a giant named Callann Mór is buried at Carnanbane on the west side. Until the 20th century, people gathered on the mountain for Lughnasadh festivals. Today, sheep graze the slopes and erosion has increased with more mountain biking and hill walking. A yearly race runs from Inniscarn Forest to the summit and back, organised by the Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association.