Mullaghcarn (from Irish: Mullach Cairn, meaning 'peak of the cairns' is a mountain in the southwest Sperrins, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The peak reaches a height of 542 m (1778 ft), and is the 370th highest in Ireland. Mullaghcarn is in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area, on the edge of Gortin Glen Forest Park, and is the most southerly peak in the Sperrins. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Omagh, and is 3.1 miles (5.0 km) south of the village of Gortin.
Mullaghcarn is steep, and has a rocky summit. The west of the mountain is home to conifers. "Acid" grassland is the most common on Mullaghcarn, and peat is not especially common, due to the draining of the eastern mountain. Heather is most common on the northern slopes. The red grouse can be found on heathland around Mullaghcarn.
The last Sunday in July see’s people undertaking the yearly tradition of walking to the summit of Mullaghcarn Mountain, known as 'Cairn Sunday'. Walkers will be joined by a new friend 'a giant' called Darach who will greet you when you near the top! The new giant sculpture located on the top of Mullaghcarn is one of a series of giants in the Sperrins, which was launched by the Fermanaght & Omagh District Council.
Cairn Sunday walk normally starts from Gortin Glen Forest Cafe at 10am and follows the purple waymarked 'Mullaghcarn Trail' signs. The walk normally takes around three hours which is predomanently on a tarmac and quarry rack gravel. It should be noted that the trail’s gradient can be quite challenging, particularly towards the end of the walk towards the summit. Free car parking and toilets are readily available at the Gortin Forest Park Visitors Centre.
The tradition of climbing Mullaghcarn is thought to date back over 1,000 years. Cairns have been used from Prehistoric times to present and the act of adding a stone to a cairn, is a deep rooted tradition, you are preserving the integrity of the cairn. It’s believed that the cairn marks a location of great religious significance, perhaps a burial place.
The practice of climbing Mullaghcarn is likely to have had a pagan origin, historians have discovered that people sought to be closer to their gods and with the introduction of Christianity saw the climbing to the top of Mullaghcarn become an annual day of pilgrimage.
Blueberry Sunday’ as it was formally known was marked by those participants performing religious practices at the summit although through time, ‘sports days’ became a feature there. Activities including berry picking, eating and drinking, singing and dancing, notably, there were those who regarded attendance an ideal ‘courting’ or matchmaking’ opportunity as it was a place where good lasting relationships began!
In 1997, around 300 hardy participants climbed Mullaghcarn on the last Sunday of July and in doing so they revived the tradition that had been previously lost.
The Sperrin Giants
The treo of art pieces is part of the Sperrin Sculpture Trail being delivered by Derry City and Strabane District Council in partnership with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and Mid Ulster District Council, in this popular area of natural, unspoilt beauty.
This project has been delivered through the Rural Tourism Scheme as part of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 with funding of over £1.32m from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) with match funding totalling £568k from the partner Councils in an effort to drive rural tourism and investment in the local, natural and built heritage.
World renowned, Copenhagen based artist Thomas Dambo and the design and construction consultancy team McGurk Architects were appointed to take forward the development of this innovative project. The sculptures take the visitor on a journey back to the Celtic and Neolithic myths of giants, multiple dimensions and ancient history, bringing back to life magical tales amidst the beautiful backdrop of the Sperrins.
Darach, the Guardian
Darach, who is named after the Irish word for ‘Oak’, a word also associated with protection, stands proudly at the summit of Mullaghcarn Mountain. ‘Oak’ is one of the ‘Seven Trees of Ireland’ and is also the material from which all the giants have been constructed. The sculpture alludes to a Celtic myth about a giant coming through a portal with a veil of crystals.
This sculpture focuses on the ecology and landscape of the Sperrins. Darach overlooks the region, from Fermanagh to Derry, Donegal and beyond, and is protector of the land. Darach is surrounded by standing stones which she has placed to navigate the landscape. These stones celebrate the age-old tradition of people, over 1000’s of years, carrying stones to the summit of Mullaghcarn to add to the cairn there. It is fitting that Mullach Cairn (Mullaghcarn) was named after this cairn (translated as ‘summit of the heap of stones’).
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