BENBULBIN BY IRISH PAINTERS

BenBulbin (526 m) by Kate Kern Mundie, 2010

BenBulbin (526m), Ireland, by Jim Mc Parltin

BENBULBIN or BINN GHULBAIN  (526 m - 1,726ft)
 Ireland

The mountain 
Benbulbin (526 m- 1,726ft) sometimes spelled Ben Bulben or Benbulben (from the Irish: Binn Ghulbain), is a large rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country". Benbulbin is a protected site, designated as a County Geological Site by Sligo County Council.
Benbulbin is the setting of several Irish legends. It is said to be one of the hunting grounds of the Fianna, a band of warriors who are said to have lived in the 3rd century. One example is a story in which the warrior Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Diarmuid) is tricked by the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) into fighting an enchanted boar, which later kills the warrior by piercing his heart with its tusk. The mountain is said to be Diarmuid and Gráinne's resting place. Also, in the 6th century, St. Columba fought a battle on the plain below Benbulbin at Cúl Dreimhne (Cooladrumman) for the right to copy a Psalter he had borrowed from St. Finnian.
Benbulbin was shaped during the ice age, when Ireland was under glaciers. Originally it was a large plateau. Glaciers moving from the northeast to southwest shaped it into its present distinct formation.
Benbulbin, and the Dartry Mountains as a whole, are composed of limestones on top of mudstones. These rocks formed in the area approximately 320 million years ago in a shallow sea. Uppermost in the limestone layer is a thicker, harder limestone called the Dartry Limestone Formation. Below this is a thinner transitional limestone formation – the Glencar Limestone Formation. Further down, the lower slopes consist of shaly mudstone known as the Benbulben Shale Formation. Scree deposits are found near the base. Fossils exist throughout the layers of the mountains. All layers have many fossilised sea shells. The shale layer also holds some corals. Barytes was mined at Glencarbury near Benbulbin in the Dartry range between 1894 and 1979.
Benbulbin is an established walking destination.  If climbed by the north face, it is a dangerous climb. That side bears the brunt of the high winds and storms that come in from the Atlantic Ocean. However, if approached by the south side, it is an easy walk, since that side slopes very gently. Upon reaching the summit, the climber is rewarded with a magnificent view over the coastal plain of north Co. Sligo and the Atlantic ocean.  The land adjacent to the impressive western edge of the ridge is privately owned farmland and not accessible to the general public. However, there is a paved path up the south face to the east near Glencar Waterfall just over the County Leitrim border.

Benbulbin features prominently in the poetry of W. B. Yeats, after whom Yeats Country is named. County Sligo is considered integral to the poet's work. The mountain is one of the destinations on the Passport Trail of the poet's life.

Yeats wrote the following in The Celtic Twilight:

“

But for Ben Bulben and Knocknarea, Many a poor sailor'd be cast away.

”

Source:
- Ben Bulbin mountain