The walk
The Ballyhourigan Loop is the gentle way onto Keeper Hill (Irish Sliabh Coimeálta, ‘mountain of guarding’), which at 694 m is the highest point in the Shannon area. The loop itself stays on the forested lower slopes and is graded moderate. Lengths vary by source – Discover Ireland says 8.3 km, others 8.6 or 9 km – so call it about 8.5 km, with around 410 m of climbing (Tipperary Tourism puts the ascent higher, at 550 m) and somewhere between two and a half and four hours on your feet.
It starts and finishes at Doonane car park, about 7 km from Newport, in County Tipperary. The path begins on wide forestry tracks and narrows to rootier woodland trail as it drops towards the townland of Boolatin. Be straight with yourself before you set off: this is mostly commercial conifer plantation, not ancient wood, and the two reasons to walk it are the open views higher up and the sweat house on the way down.
Here is the one decision to make at the start. The main loop follows blue arrows around the shoulders of Keeper Hill. At a junction part-way round, red arrows mark the steep extension to the summit, which adds an hour or more of real climbing and pays it back with views across the Slieve Felim range and, on a clear day, towards Limerick. If the legs and the weather are willing, take the red arrows; if not, the blue loop is a satisfying walk on its own. The route also overlaps a section of the long-distance Slieve Felim Way, so you can link onto that 30 km cross-county trail if you want a longer, linear day.
The stone sweat house
On the descent through Boolatin, the loop passes a small, roofless stone sweat house – a low chamber that was heated with a fire, then used for a kind of folk sauna believed to ease aches and rheumatism. These survive here and there across the Irish uplands and are easy to walk straight past, so keep an eye out as the path drops. It is the most interesting thing on the walk after the views, and the stonework is fragile, so keep dogs and boots off it.
Wildlife and seasons
The 300-hectare summit zone above the woods is protected as both a National Heritage Area and a Special Area of Conservation. Hen harriers hunt over the open ground here, and buzzards work the edges of the conifer stands. Through the year the wood changes character: bluebells and wild garlic on the spring floor, shade for the summer, and gold birch and hazel against the dark evergreens in autumn. In winter the higher ground can ice up, so bring proper boots and watch your footing on the descent.
Practical information
- Parking: Doonane car park is the trailhead. Discover Ireland lists it as paid car parking, so bring change; the lot is small.
- Opening and admission: Open year-round; the walk itself is free.
- Dogs: Welcome, but keep them on a lead, and well clear of the sweat house.
- Facilities: None on the trail – no toilets, café or shop. Carry water, food and a bag for your litter.
- What to bring: Waterproofs whatever the forecast, plus a map or an offline GPS app, as the mobile signal drops in the lower valleys.
Start early to be sure of a parking space, and decide at the junction rather than the car park: walk to the red-arrow turn-off, see how the cloud is sitting on Keeper Hill, and make the call on the summit then.