lEELAND. 383 



does the valley of the Slaney separate them from a few outlying hills, including 

 Mount Leinster (2,610 feet) and Blackstairs Mountain (2,409 feet). The nucleus 

 of these mountains consists of granite, their axis of upheaval runs from south-west 

 to north-east, and they culminate in Lugnaquilla (3,039 feet). Metamorphosed 

 and other Silurian rocks conceal the base of the granite, and on the eastern slope 

 an eruption of volcanic rocks has taken place. The mountain region of Wicklow, 

 owing to the vicinity of the capital, is one of the most frequented in Ireland, as it 

 is certainly one of the most beautiful. Lakes, cascades, and bold promontories 

 overhanging the blue waters of the sea, ancient ruins and legendary lore, exercise 

 an irresistible power of attraction. No spot in Britain has inspired more 

 harmonious and sweeter verse than the " Meeting of the Waters " of the Avonmore 

 and Avonbeg, which form the river Avoca. 



Far wilder, but no less beautiful than the "Wicklow Mountains are the highlands 

 of Connemara, which occupy a portion of the almost insular region surrounded by 

 Galway Bay, the Atlantic, Clew Bay, and Loughs Mask and Corrib. These 

 mountains, formed of granite and metamorphosed rocks, and the rugged table-land 

 of Slieve Partry, or Joj'ce's Country, upon which their craggy summits look down, 

 are amongst the most ancient of all Ireland. "Wandering through this desolate 

 region, we might almost fancy that we were living in the early days of our planet, so 

 primitive is the aspect of the country, with its piled-up rocks, island- studded lakes, 

 winding streams, and swamj^y bogs. These western highlands culminate in 

 Muilrea (2,688 feet), at the mouth of Killary Harbour. Very similar in aspect are 

 the mountains which fill Western IMayo to the north of Clew Bay, most conspicuous 

 amongst which are Mount Nephin (2,646 feet), Nephin Beg (2,065 feet), and 

 Croaghaun (2,192 feet), on Achill Island. 



The highlands of Donegal, which occupy the north-western corner of Ireland, 

 are of Silurian age, and must be looked upon as a prolongation of the Highlands of 

 Scotland. Granite occurs plentifully within them, and Mount Errigal, close to 

 the shore of the Atlantic, rises to a height of 2,466 feet. Separated from Donegal 

 by the valley of the Foyle rises the moorland tract of Derry called Sperrin 

 Mountains (2,240 feet), which is geologically of the same age as the north-western 

 highlands. 



Most recent amongst the mountains of Ireland are those of Mourne and 

 Carliugford, which rise on either side of Carlingford Lough. Slieve Donard, a 

 dome-shaped mass of granite rising from the margin of the sea to an elevation of 

 2,796 feet, is an imposing object, but there is every reason to believe that formerly 

 these mountains were much higher. They are penetrated by innumerable intrusive 

 streaks and dykes of basalt, and E. Hull likens them to the roots of volcanic 

 mountains the trunk and branches of which have been removed by denuding 

 agents, just as if a mountain like Etna were to be cut down into a group of hills 

 rising to little more than half its present height. 



Still more manifest is the action of volcanic forces in that part of North-eastern 

 Ireland which lies between Lough Foyle, Lough Neagh, and Belfast Lough. 

 This table-hnid of Antrim, above which Trostan Mountain rises to a height of 



