| Turlough Hill (Cnoc an Turlaigh) | |
|---|---|
| Tomaneena (Tuaim an Aonaigh) | |
 The upper reservoir on Turlough Hill, viewed fromTonelagee | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 681 m (2,234 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 54 m (177 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 53°01′27″N6°24′59″W / 53.02417°N 6.41639°W /53.02417; -6.41639[1] |
| Geography | |
  Turlough Hill (Cnoc an Turlaigh) Location in Ireland | |
| Location | County Wicklow,Ireland |
| Parent range | Wicklow Mountains |
| OSI/OSNI grid | T063982 |
| Topo map | OSI Discovery No. 56 |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Access road to north of summit |
Turlough Hill (Irish:Cnoc an Turlaigh, meaning 'Hill of theTurlach'),[2] also known asTomaneena (Irish:Tuaim an Aonaigh, meaning 'mound of the assembly/fair'),[1] is a 681-metre-high (2,234 ft) mountain inCounty Wicklow inIreland and site of Ireland's onlypumped-storage hydroelectricity plant. The power station is owned and operated by theESB and can generate up to 292 megawatts (392,000 hp) of electricity at times of peak demand.
The historianLiam Price recorded that the mountain was known locally as Tomaneena;[3] Turlough Hill is the name given to it by the ESB when they surveyed the site for the pumped-storage scheme.[4] It is 681 metres (2,234 ft) high and is the 136th highest summit in Ireland.[1] The summit is located to the south-west of the upper reservoir and is easily reached via the tarmac access road that begins at the top of theWicklow Gap.[5] It is also possible to reach the summit fromGlendalough or from the summits of neighbouringCamaderry andConavalla mountains.[6]
The underlying geology of the mountain isgranite, covered withblanket bog, which is a habitat forheather,purple moor grass andsphagnum moss.[7] A number ofalpine plants grow near the summit:dwarf willow,cowberry,crowberry,fir clubmoss andcommon bilberry.[8] To the north-east of the summit, at the head of Glendasan valley, is Lough Nahanagan (Irish:Loch na hOnchon, meaning 'Lake of the Water Monster'),[9] acorrie lake carved by aglacier at the end of thelast ice age.[10]
The Turlough Hill Power Station is owned and operated by theElectricity Supply Board (ESB).[11] Construction commenced in 1968, and the station became fully operational in 1974.
Whilst the original name is Tomaneena, renaming it ‘Turlough Hill’ has a certain validity. The pumped storage station draws water from the mountain top lake, which thus becomes a ‘dry lake’. There is a geological feature known as a Turlough; it is defined as "(in Ireland) a low-lying area on limestone which becomes flooded in wet weather through the welling up of groundwater from the rock.Origin late 17th cent.: from Irishturloch, fromtur ‘dry’ +loch ‘lake’."[12]
