About
Mountain Details
Height: 585 metres OS 1/50k
Mapsheet: 26 for top Grid Ref: H01876 15929
Latitude: 54.092521 Longitude: -7.972100
ITM: 601825 815936
Walks of grade 1,2,3,and 4
Aghacashel, the starting point for most of the walking trails, is situated between Drumshanbo and Ballinamore (N3 to Ballinamore, N4 to Carrick on Shannon)
Sliabh An Iarainn (or Slieve Anierin in English) translates as 'the iron mountain'. Iron was mined in the area from the 15th
century, and the best ore was found on Sliabh An Iarainn. The iron was extracted in a local smelter by timber. But by the mid-eighteenth century the iron industry had taken a back seat to coal.
The main coal seam was discovered in the hills above Arigna, west of Lough Allen, but smaller deposits were also mined on Sliabh An Iarainn.
The track used by this route to access the mountain is in fact an old road to a former mine shaft. When the ESB closed the coal-fired power station at Arigna in 1990, four centuries of mining activity in the region came to an end.
If you have time before of after your walk it's well worth visiting the Sliabh an Iarainn Visitor Centre in the centre of Drumshanbo and also the Arigna mining experience.
There are several marked walking routes around Sliabh an Iarainn, which are all detailed on a map board at Aghacashel shop. Most concentrate on the laneways around the mountain, but one - Route G- heads up the mine track to the mass site at the base of the cliffs. There is a route which continues on from here and the waymarkers provide useful guidance over the first two kilometres. There are two options for the return. A shorter circuit of 6.5km explores just the southern section of the cliffs before dropping back to the access track. The longer route explores more of the cliffline and visits Lough Nabelleg.