Cruach Mhór


Cruach Mhór, at high, is the tenth-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the eleventh-highest peak in Ireland according to the Vandeleur-Lynam list. A distinctive square grotto marks the summit. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in County Kerry.

Geography

Cruach Mhór is at the far eastern section of MacGillycuddy's Reeks in County Kerry, Ireland's highest mountain range. It is the first major peak in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk when started from Kate Kearney's Cottage in the Gap of Dunloe. The ridge between Cruach Mhór and Cnoc na Péiste, is marked by The Big Gun at its centre, and is considered as offering some of the most exposed and serious hill walking in Ireland. The Macgillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk continues along this ridge to Maolán Buí and on to Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain.
at the top of Cruach Mhor, built by a local farmer who hauled the materials up by hand
Just over 3 km to the east-northeast of Cruach Mhór, across a sharp notch, is the lesser peak of Cnoc an Bhráca. There is a lower peak to the east of Cruach Mhór known as Cruach Bheag.
On the summit of Cruach Mhór is a stone grotto built by a local farmer who hauled up the cement on his back, and its small statue is changed every year. The square structure, which sits on the exact summit, is visible from a distance.
Cruach Mhór is the 401st-highest mountain in Britain and Ireland on the Simm classification. It is listed by the Scottish Mountaineering Club as one of 34 Furths, which is a mountain above in elevation, and meets the other SMC criteria for a Munro, but which is outside of Scotland; which is why Cruach Mhór is sometimes referred to as one of the 13 Irish Munros.
, to The Big Gun, and on to Cruach Mhor, whose grotto is visible at its summit.
Cruach Mhór's prominence qualifies it to meet the Arderin classification, and the British Isles Simm and Hewitt classifications. Cruach Mhór does not appear in the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, as the prominence threshold is over.