Benbulbin (), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a large flat-topped nunatak rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country".
Benbulbin is a protected site, designated as a County Geological Site by Sligo County Council.
Etymology
"Benbulbin", "Benbulben" and "Ben Bulben" are all anglicisations of the Irish name "Binn Ghulbain". "Binn" means "peak" or "mountain"; "ghulbain" may mean beak or jaw, or may refer to Conall Gulban, a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was associated with the mountain.
Geology
Formation
Benbulbin was shaped during the ice age, when Ireland was under glaciers. Originally it was a large plateau. Glaciers moving from the northeast to southwest shaped it into its present distinct formation.
Rock composition
Benbulbin, and the Dartry Mountains as a whole, are composed of limestones on top of mudstones. These rocks formed in the area approximately 345-330 million years ago in the Viséan Stage of the Carboniferous Period. The environment was a shallow sea. Uppermost in the limestone layer is a thicker, harder limestone called the Dartry Limestone Formation. Below this is a thinner transitional limestone formation – the Glencar Limestone Formation. Further down, the lower slopes consist of shaly mudstone known as the Benbulben Shale Formation. Scree deposits are found near the base.
Fossils exist throughout the layers of the mountains. All layers have many fossilised sea shells. The shale layer also holds some corals.
Baryte was mined at Glencarbury near Benbulbin in the Dartry range between 1894 and 1979.
Climbing
Benbulbin is an established walking destination. If climbed by the north face, it is a hazardous climb. That side bears the brunt of the high winds and storms that come in from the Atlantic Ocean. However, if approached by the south side, it is an easy walk, since that side slopes very gently. From the summit there are views over the coastal plain of north County Sligo and the Atlantic ocean. The land adjacent to the western edge of the ridge is privately owned farmland and not accessible to the general public. However, there is a paved path up the south face to the east near Glencar Waterfall just over the County Leitrim border.
Walking
One of the trails running alongside Benbulbin mountain is the Gortarowey Looped Walk, which runs both through the forest and out in the open, overlooking Benbulbin and Donegal Bay. It is in length and takes approximately 1.5 hours to walk.
Flora and fauna
Benbulbin hosts a variety of plants, including some found nowhere else in Ireland. Many are Arctic–alpine species, due to the mountain's height, which allows for cooler temperature at altitude than the surrounding terrain. These plants are believed to have evolved and established themselves just after the glaciers that formed Benbulbin had receded. In 2012, research revealed that the fringed sandwort found growing on Benbulbin (found nowhere else in the country) has, indeed, been present since the last ice age; the endemic plants are thought to be collectively around 100,000 years old. This discovery reopens the debate over whether or not Ireland's ecology, as we know it today, predates the Ice Age. Other notable flora found on Benbulbin includes Alpine saxifrage, Arabidopsis spp., arctic meadow-rue, bluebells, Meconopsis spp., Poa alpina, Polystichum lonchitis, and snowbed willow.
Wild badger, hare and red fox may be seen in the area. The formation also hosts a population of red-billed chough—birds with a similar appearance to crows, ravens and other Corvids, albeit with bright red bills.
In Irish history
Irish legends
Benbulbin is the setting of several Irish legends. It is said to be one of the hunting grounds of the Fianna, a band of warriors who are said to have lived in the 3rd century. One example is the story of The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne, in which the warrior Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Diarmuid) is tricked by Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) into fighting an enchanted boar, which later kills the warrior by piercing his heart with its tusk. McCool is also said to have found his long-lost son Oisín at this location. The mountain is said to be Diarmuid and Gráinne's resting place. Also, in the 6th century, St. Columba fought a battle on the plain below Benbulbin at Cúl Dreimhne (Cooladrumman) for the right to copy a Psalter he had borrowed from St. Finnian.