Cooley & Mournes

The Cooley Side: Myth and Medieval Heritage The Cooley Peninsula juts into the Irish Sea between Dundalk Bay and Carlingford Lough, crowned by Slieve Foy at 589 metres. The Cooley Way, a circuit walk of the peninsula, takes you through landscape steeped in Irish mythology. This is where the Táin — the great cattle raid of Irish legend — unfolded; where Cú Chulainn defended the ford against an entire army. Carlingford sits at the base of the peninsula like a perfectly preserved medieval town. The stone walls still stand. King John's Castle commands the lough. The gate towers remain. The narrow streets, the small harbour where oysters have been farmed for generations show this was once a Norman stronghold of real consequence. From Carlingford, you walk the foothills and ridges. The views across the lough grow more spectacular with each ascent. On clear days, you see the Mournes in full relief. The Mourne Wall catches the light, the rock faces gleam, Slieve Donard pulls your eye like a magnet. The Carlingford Lough Ferry is a 20-minute sailing between Greenore (County Louth) and Greencastle (County Down). One mile of water takes you from one Ireland to another. The Cooley Mountains fall away behind you. The Mournes rise ahead. It's one of the most memorable transitions in Irish walking. The Mourne Mountains are higher, rockier, more austere than Cooley. The Mourne Wall is a 35-kilometre dry-stone structure built between 1904 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners. Walking sections of the wall is one of the great mountain experiences in Ireland. Slieve Donard dominates the eastern end at 852 metres, the highest peak in Northern Ireland. On clear days from the summit, you see into Snowdonia across the Irish Sea and to the Isle of Man.