Errigal

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Mountain in Donegal, Ireland

title: "Errigal" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["marilyns-of-ireland", "hewitts-of-ireland", "mountains-and-hills-of-county-donegal", "geography-of-gweedore", "highest-points-of-irish-counties", "mountains-under-1000-metres", "pyramidal-peaks"] description: "Mountain in Donegal, Ireland" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errigal" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in Donegal, Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Errigal
native_name	ga
photo	earagail.jpg
photo_caption	A view of Errigal from Gweedore.
elevation_m	751
elevation_ref
prominence_m	688
prominence_ref
listing	County top (Donegal), P600, Marilyn, Hewitt
translation	oratory
language	Irish
location	County Donegal, Ireland
range	Derryveagh Mountains
coordinates
map	Ireland
grid_ref_Ireland	B928207
topo	OSi Discovery 1
::

Errigal () is a 751 m mountain near Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the tallest peak of the Derryveagh Mountains and the tallest peak in County Donegal. Errigal is also the most southern and the highest of the mountain chain called the "Seven Sisters" by locals. The other peaks of the Seven Sisters are Muckish, Crocknalaragagh, Aghla Beg, Ardloughnabrackbaddy, Aghla More, and Mackoght.

Geography

Errigal is the most southern, steepest and highest of the mountain chain, called the "Seven Sisters". The Seven Sisters includes Muckish, Crocknalaragagh, Aghla Beg, Ardloughnabrackbaddy, Aghla More, Mackoght and Errigal. The nearest peak is Mackoght (from Irish: Mac Uchta, meaning "son of the mountain-breast") which is also known as Little Errigal or Wee Errigal ().

Errigal is known for the pinkish glow of its quartzite in the setting sun. Another noted quality is the ever-changing shape of the mountain depending on what direction you view it from. Errigal was voted 'Ireland's Most Iconic Mountain' by Walking & Hiking Ireland in 2009.

Naming

In legend Errigal is said to have been named by the Fir Bolg who, originating in Greece, came to worship Errigal as they had Mount Olympus.

The name comes from the Old Irish airecal, meaning "oratory". There are no remains of an oratory on the mountain, so it may refer to the mountain as a whole as a place of prayer.

In recent years, there have been numerous erroneous references to Mount Errigal. In 2016, the Republic of Ireland's State tourism authority, Fáilte Ireland, apologised for using the name "Mount Errigal" in its brochure, rather than the proper name. The official name is An Earagail or Errigal.

In popular culture

In the 1985 music video, "In A Lifetime" by Clannad and Bono, several images of Errigal appear.
In 1990, Errigal features prominently in the music video for The Chills' song, "Heavenly Pop Hit".
In the 1991 song by Goats Don't Shave called "Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)" contains the line, "To stand on top of Errigal, would give me such a thrill".
In the 2008 film Hunger, the main protagonist Bobby Sands describes Errigal as a "beautiful sight".
In the 2011 movie Your Highness, several scenes were shot on Errigal
In 2012, Irish composer Vincent Kennedy, as part of his music for The Happy Prince, titled a piece: "Snowfall on Errigal"
The song "Gleanntáin Ghlas' Ghaoth Dobhair", written by Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, begins with the lines: ::"Céad slán ag sléibhte maorga Chondae Dhún na nGall / Agus dhá chéad slán ag an Earagal árd / Ina stua os cionn caor 's call".

Gallery

Errigal_Snow.jpg|From An Chúirt. Image:View From Errigal.jpg|The view from Errigal. Image:Errigal - geograph.org.uk - 557434.jpg|Errigal as seen from Slieve Snaght. Image:Ascending Errigal - geograph.org.uk - 1459252.jpg|Ascending Errigal. Image:Donegal Carrickfin Airport - View to the east - geograph.org.uk - 1174831.jpg|Errigal as seen from The Rosses. Image:Preparing to land at Donegal - geograph.org.uk - 1159594.jpg|An aerial view of Errigal and Gweedore. Image:Dunlewy - Derelict church near Poison Glen - geograph.org.uk - 1189699.jpg|Derelict church at the foot of Errigal. Image:Donegal. A View Of Errigal Mountain From Crockmulroney Summit - geograph.org.uk - 1063714.jpg|Errigal as seen from Cloughaneely.

References

"Errigal 751m mountain, Donegal NW Derryveagh Mountains Donegal Ireland at MountainViews.ie".
"Errigal Mountain - Peakbagger.com".
Ordnance Survey Ireland — the name is 'Errigal', omitting the word 'Mount'.
"An Earagail/Errigal". [[Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
"Mac Uchta/Mackoght".
(24 October 2009). "Walking Ireland's Iconic Mountains – Number 1: Errigal".
Macerlean, Fergal. (15 August 2009). "A route less travelled". [[The Irish Times]].
"An Earagail/Errigal Mountain".
"eDIL - Irish Language Dictionary".
Tempan, Paul. (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names".
Feeny, Seán P.. (21 August 2015). "When did they change Errigal's name?". [[Donegal News]].
Scanlon, Cronan. (25 August 2016). "Fáilte Ireland admits it got Errigal's name wrong". [[Donegal News]].
"Mount Errigal Hotel".
"Clannad Concert Tour Program".
"Newsletter".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::