Overview
Slieve Callan is the third-highest hill in County Clare at 391m (1,283ft), and the highest in the west of the county. It sits roughly in the middle of the triangle drawn by Milltown Malbay, Inagh and Connolly, about 8km back from the Atlantic. That inland-but-coastal position is the whole point: on a genuinely clear day the summit gives a 360° sweep from Mount Brandon and the Dingle Peninsula in the south, past the Aran Islands and the Silvermine Mountains, round to the Connemara hills and the Burren.
The catch is in the phrase ‘clear day’. This is west Clare, with about 2,000mm of rain a year, and the summit clouds over when the valleys below are still bright. Time it for a settled spell or don’t count on the view at all.
The walk to the summit
The usual route is a 3.68-mile (5.9km) loop from the small car park near Hand Cross Roads, gaining about 160m and rated moderate. The first half stays reasonably firm; the summit plateau is soft, boggy ground pitted with waterholes over slate and carboniferous shale, wet more or less year-round. Wear boots and expect to pick your line.
A closed gate at the start of the track now stops walkers straying onto private land. If you’d rather not climb, it’s a fair turnaround point in itself. Those going on can also take a gravel track through the wind-farm service area, which sidesteps the gate but runs narrow and eroded past a quarry and turbine bases before the plateau opens out. There are no facilities on the hill, so carry your own water.
The tombs, the ogham stone and the folklore
In the townland of Knockalassa on the southern side stand the remains of two megalithic tombs. Local lore holds that damaging them brings bad luck – reason enough to leave them be. A small lake, Lough Boolynagreana, sits on the mountainside above.
The hill was long used for Lughnasa gatherings each August, the harvest festival marked on high ground across Ireland. In the late 18th century an ogham stone was found here, and it earned an outsized place in antiquarian history: it was the first ogham inscription ever translated and published. The reading claimed it marked the grave of Conán, a warrior of the mythical fianna. The same stone feeds the legend of Kilstiffen, a drowned city said to lie off the coast near the Cliffs of Moher, whose golden key is supposedly buried beneath it.
The wind farms
The southern and eastern slopes now carry two wind farms, Slieve Callan West and East – 29 turbines granted permission in 2017, built in 2018 and sold on in 2020. They’ve changed the look of the hill entirely, and how you feel about that is a matter of taste. Footpaths stay open; keep to them and mind the ‘no trespass’ signage near the substations. Under the planning deal, the developers committed €1.5 million in community funding to Milltown Malbay, Inagh and Kilmaley for local infrastructure and heritage.
The Slieve Callan steam engine at Moyasta
The name also belongs to a locomotive. A short drive south-west at Moyasta, the West Clare Railway kept the restored Slieve Callan engine, built in 1892 by Dubs & Co. It hauled the narrow-gauge West Clare line for 60 years until 1952, sat for decades on a plinth at Ennis station, and was rescued for a long restoration led by local businessman Jackie Whelan before returning to run heritage trains on a 2.5km stretch toward the old Kilkee line.
One thing to check before you build a day around it: the West Clare Railway museum and railway are currently closed to the public until further notice. The line was immortalised in Percy French’s ‘Are You Right There Michael?’, but ring or check ahead rather than turning up to a locked gate.
Nearby villages and attractions
- Inagh – at the foot of the hill and a gateway to the Mid Clare Way, home to St Tola Goat Cheese, where you can watch the cheese being made.
- Connolly – a few kilometres east, with a car park, picnic area and a Fairy Trail popular with families; the Cloontabonniv Bog Walk starts here.
- Corcomroe Abbey – a ruined Cistercian abbey a short drive away, worth a quiet half-hour.
- Aillwee Cave – the cave and birds-of-prey centre to the north.
Practical information
Access and parking: the trailhead is near Hand Cross Roads, off the R476 west of Ennis toward Kilkee; the turn is signposted. The car park holds only two or three vehicles, with a lay-by at the farm-track entrance for the alternative route.
Dogs and safety: dogs are welcome but keep them under control near livestock and turbine perimeters. Reception is patchy on top, so download maps or bring the OSi sheet, and check the forecast – the summit can be misty when the valleys are clear.