Gravale

Gravale
Gravale (highest) with Carrigvore (right) from SE
Highest point
Elevation	718 m (2,356 ft)
Prominence	123 m (404 ft)
Listing	100 Highest Irish Mountains, Hewitt, Arderin, Simm, Vandeleur-Lynam
Coordinates	53°07′N 6°21′W
Naming
Native name	Droibhéal
English translation	difficult passage
Geography
Gravale Location in Ireland
Location	County Wicklow, Ireland
Parent range	Wicklow Mountains
OSI/OSNI grid	O1049009420
Topo map	OSi Discovery 56
Geology
Mountain type	Granite with microcline phenocrysts
Climbing
Easiest route	from the Sally Gap, or along the R115

Gravale (Irish: Droibhéal, meaning 'difficult passage') at 718 metres (2,356 ft), is the 79th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 98th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Gravale is in the middle sector of the Wicklow Mountains range, in County Wicklow, Ireland. Gravale sits on a north-east to south-west "boggy ridge" that forms the "central spine" of the whole range, which runs from the Sally Gap, to Carrigvore 682 metres (2,238 ft), to Gravale, and after a col to Duff Hill 720 metres (2,360 ft), which is part of the larger massif of Mullaghcleevaun 849 metres (2,785 ft).

Gravale's prominence of 123 metres (404 ft), does not quality it as a Marilyn, but does rank it the 45th-highest mountain in Ireland on the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the minimum prominence threshold for inclusion on the list is 100 metres.

Naming

According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, the historian Eoin MacNeill, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (JRSAI), thought that the Irish name "Drobeóil", as listed in the Metrical Dinsenchas, had survived the mountain name "Gravale". Tempan also notes that historical maps of the estates in which Gravale lies suggest that the col between Gravale and Duff Hill was known as "Lavarna" or "Lavarnia", from the Irish "Leath-Bhearna", meaning "half-gap", and that this was likely a difficult trail from the Blessington lakes area to Lough Dan.

Bibliography

• Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892118.
• Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892019.
• MountainViews Online Database (Simon Stewart) (2013). A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins. Collins Books. ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7.
• Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. ISBN 978-1852841102.

See also

• Wicklow Way
• Wicklow Mountains
• Lists of mountains in Ireland
• List of mountains of the British Isles by height
• List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland

External links

• MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website, Gravale
• MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database
• The Database of British and Irish Hills , the largest database of British Isles mountains ("DoBIH")
• Hill Bagging UK & Ireland, the searchable interface for the DoBIH