It is likely that Slieve Donard was seen as a sacred mountain in the far past.
Irish mythology identifies the Great Cairn as being the tomb or abode of mythical figures, and an entrance to
the Otherworld. In
Cath Maige Tuired ('The Battle of Moytura'), Slieve Donard is called one of the "twelve chief mountains" of Ireland, while in the
Triads of Ireland it is called one of the "three great heights" of Ireland, along with
Croagh Patrick and
Great Sugar Loaf.
Beann Boirche means 'Boirche's Peak', referring to a mythical
cowherd and king who had seemingly supernatural powers. The plural name
Beanna Boirche ('Boirche's Peaks') was given to the Mourne Mountains. The name
Sliabh Slángha means 'Slángha's Mountain'. This refers to the mythical Slángha, son of
Partholón, who was said to be the first physician in Ireland. According to the
Annals of the Four Masters, he died in
Anno Mundi 2533 (2533 years after "the creation of the world") and was buried in the passage tomb. became associated with the mountain. According to tradition, he was a fifth-century follower of
Saint Patrick and founded a
monastery at Maghera, a few miles north of the mountain. Donard is said to have "appropriated the mountain and the monument for Christianity", allegedly by making the Great Cairn into a
hermit's cell and using the Lesser Cairn as an
oratory. According to the
Life of Saint Patrick and the
Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick, Patrick blessed Donard in the womb, declaring that Donard would not die but
abide inside the mountain as a perpetual guardian. According to folklore, a cave runs from the seashore to the cairn on the summit, and it is here that Donard (or Boirche) lives. The writings of
Gerald de Barri indicate that in the late 12th century the name
Sliabh Slángha was going out of use and being replaced by
Sliabh Domhanghairt.
Sliabh Dónairt is the modernised spelling. and the stone tower at the summit Up until the 1830s, people made a pilgrimage to the mountaintop in late July each year. It is likely that this was originally a
Lughnasadh ritual that became Christianized. The church at Maghera and St Mary's Church at Ballaghanery Upper may have been starting points for the pilgrimage. In 1826, as part of the
Principal Triangulation, the
Royal Engineers used Slieve Donard as a base
to map Ireland. They camped on the mountaintop from late July until late November that year and used the two cairns to make
triangulation points, badly damaging the cairns. During the Survey, two men died in a snowstorm on their way down the mountain and others were hurt during storms on the summit. The
Mourne Wall was built in the early 20th century and passes over fifteen mountains, including Slieve Donard. The wall goes up the western slope to a stone tower and then down the southern slope. It took 18 years to build, from 1904 to 1922, with stonemasons working in the mountains from March to mid-October each year. Some stones from the cairns were used to build it. In April 2006, a man was killed on Slieve Donard after being struck by lightning. A brass plaque on the summit commemorates him. In April 2021 there was a major
gorse fire on the eastern slopes of Slieve Donard, devastating the habitat and badly affecting wildlife in the area. The fire was extinguished after three days. It was thought to have been started deliberately and became the subject of a police investigation. ==See also==