| Kippure | |
|---|---|
 Kippure, southern slopes with the transmission mast visible on the summit | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 757 m (2,484 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 262 m (860 ft)[1] |
| Listing | County Top (Dublin),100 Highest Irish Mountains,Marilyn,Hewitt,Arderin,Simm,Vandeleur-Lynam |
| Coordinates | 53°10′41″N6°19′55″W / 53.178°N 6.332°W /53.178; -6.332 |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Cipiúr |
| English translation | Kippure |
| Geography | |
  Kippure Location in Ireland | |
| Location | CountiesWicklow &South Dublin, Ireland |
| Parent range | Wicklow Mountains |
| OSI/OSNI grid | O1158215455 |
| Topo map | OSiDiscovery 56 |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Pale grey fine to coarse-grained granite[1] |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Eastern path from the R115 Road (the "Military Road") |
Kippure (/kɪˈpjʊər/;Irish:Cipiúr)[2] at 757 metres (2,484 ft), is the 56th-highest peak inIreland on theArderin scale,[3] and the 72nd-highest peak on theVandeleur-Lynam scale.[4][5] Kippure is situated in the far northern sector of theWicklow Mountains, where it lies on the border of countiesDublin andWicklow in Ireland.[6] Kippure is theCounty Top for Dublin, and its height and positioning overDublin city have made its summit an important site fortransmission masts, which are highly visible from a distance.[7] Kippure's slopes feed into theLiffey Head Bog which forms the source of theRiver Liffey.[6][8] The summit can be easily accessed from the east via a path that lies off theR115 (also called the "Military Road") road along the route to theSally Gap.[8]
According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, "Kippure" is simply a "transliteration of a pronunciation collected locally, but without any clear meaning".[2] Tempan notes that it resembles the Irish language term "ciop" (meaning stump) and "iúr" (meaningyew), however "stump of the yew" would be "Ciop Iúir".[2] While it is unlikely that yew trees could have ever grown on an exposed mountain such as Kippure, Tempan notes that there is a connection with a similar name in the lower valley, where the association with yew trees could have come.[2]
Kippure's largemassif sits at the head of two major valleys: the valley ofGlencree (part of County Wicklow) to the east, which it forms withTonduff 642 metres (2,106 ft),Maulin 570 metres (1,870 ft), andPrince William's Seat 555 metres (1,821 ft); and the valley ofGlenasmole (part of Dublin) to the north, which is forms withSeefingan 724 metres (2,375 ft), andCorrig Mountain 617 metres (2,024 ft).[6][7]
To the south of Kippure is the high mountain pass of theSally Gap at 503 metres (1,650 ft), and the long winding "central spine" of the Wicklow Mountains as the range runs toMullaghcleevaun 849 metres (2,785 ft), and then on toTonelagee 817 metres (2,680 ft), and finally to the terminus atLugnaquilla 925 metres (3,035 ft) in the south, County Wicklow and Leinster's highest mountain.[6][8]
Kippure has twocorrie lakes on its north-east flank,Lough Bray Upper andLough Bray Lower.[8] The slopes of Kippure hold the sources of several rivers, including tributaries that feed theRiver Liffey from the Liffey Head Bog on the western slopes ofTonduff, and tributaries that feed theRiver Dodder.[8]
Kippure'sprominence of 262 metres (860 ft) qualifies it as aMarilyn, and it also ranks it as the 32nd-highest mountain in Ireland on theMountainViews Online Database,100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres (328').[9][5]
On very clear days, Kippure can be seen fromWales.[10]
At the summit of Kippure stands a 127m (417') television and radiotransmitter mast. This is the oldest television transmission site inIreland and was initially selected as a potential VHF FM radio transmitter site during the course of aRadio Éireann survey in the mid-1950s. TheIrish Board of Works built an access road to the site in 1959, and the transmitter installation work was then started by the British companyPye Ltd. By the summer of 1961 the mast was erected[11] and test transmissions followed, consisting of slide views of Ireland, a test-card, and the music ofCount John McCormack.[citation needed]
Telefís Éireann began with transmission from Kippure on 31 December 1961 using the British405-line TV standard on VHFBand III channel 7, to be followed by a625-line service on channel H in the summer of 1962. Kippure was the first of the original five mainTelefís Éireann transmitters to come into service, the others being,Truskmore (1962),Mount Leinster (1963),Maghera (1963), andMullaghanish (1963).[citation needed]
VHF FM transmission ofRTÉ Radio (the former Radio Éireann) commenced in 1966, with stereo broadcasting beginning in 1969.[citation needed]
405-line transmission from Kippure ceased in 1978 with the arrival ofRTÉ 2, however, Kippure did not transmit RTÉ 2 until much later. Initially on Channel J at low power later moving to Channel H withRTÉ 1 moving to Channel E.[citation needed]
Kippure's importance in radio and television transmission has diminished since the late 1970s with the opening of three newUHF transmitter sites atThree Rock inCounty Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown,Clermont Carn inCounty Louth, andCairn Hill inCounty Longford, which provide better reception in most areas previously served only by Kippure. Today the IrishDTT service,Saorview, the national FM radio stations, and some commercial radio stations are broadcast from the site.[citation needed]
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Multiplex | Pol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 578 MHz | 34 | 125 | Saorview 1 | H |
| 586 MHz | 35 | 125 | Saorview 2 | H |
| Frequency | kW | Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89.1 MHz | 50 | RTÉ Radio 1 | Shared with RnaG before 1985 |
| 91.3 MHz | 50 | RTÉ 2fm | 95.3 MHz before 1985 |
| 93.5 MHz | 50 | RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta | 89.1 MHz before 1985 |
| 98.7 MHz | 50 | RTÉ lyric fm | Since 1999 |
| 100.9 MHz | 50 | Today FM | Since 1997 |
| DTT Relay | County | Mux 1 | Mux 2 | kW | Pol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laragh | Wicklow | 47 | 44 | 0.025 | H |
| Rathnew | Wicklow | 22 | 25 | 0.5 | V |
Walk 2: Tonduff and Kippure
Route 10: Kippure and the two Lough Brays
| British Isles |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | ||
| Outside Scotland | ||
| England | ||
| Ireland | ||
| County tops | ||
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