Kippure Explained

Kippure
Other Name:Cipiúr
Translation:Kippure
Language:Irish
Elevation M:757
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence M:262
Listing:County Top (Dublin), 100 Highest Irish Mountains, Marilyn, Hewitt, Arderin, Simm, Vandeleur-Lynam
Location:Wicklow & South Dublin Ireland
Range:Wicklow Mountains
Coordinates:53.178°N -6.332°W
Grid Ref Ireland:O1158215455
Map:island of Ireland
Map Relief:yes
Topo:OSi Discovery 56
Type:Pale grey fine to coarse-grained granite
Easiest Route:Eastern path from the R115 Road (the "Military Road")

Kippure (;)[2] at 757m (2,484feet), is the 56th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale,[3] and the 72nd-highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.[4] [5] Kippure is situated in the far northern sector of the Wicklow Mountains, where it lies on the border of the counties of Dublin and Wicklow in Ireland. Kippure is the County Top for Dublin, and its height and positioning over Dublin city have made its summit an important site for transmission masts, which are highly visible from a distance.[6] Kippure's slopes feed into the Liffey Head Bog which forms the source of the River Liffey. The summit can be easily accessed from the east via a path that lies off the R115 (also called the "Military Road") road along the route to the Sally Gap.

Naming

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" (meaning yew), 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]

Geography

Kippure's large massif sits at the head of two major valleys: the valley of Glencree (part of Wicklow) to the east, which it forms with Tonduff 642m (2,106feet), Maulin 570m (1,870feet), and Prince William's Seat 555m (1,821feet); and the valley of Glenasmole (part of Dublin) to the north, which is forms with Seefingan 724m (2,375feet), and Corrig Mountain 617m (2,024feet).[7]

To the south of Kippure is the high mountain pass of the Sally Gap at 503m (1,650feet), and the long winding "central spine" of the Wicklow mountains as the range runs to Mullaghcleevaun 849m (2,785feet), and then on to Tonelagee 817m (2,680feet), and finally to the terminus at Lugnaquilla 925m (3,035feet) in the south, Wicklow and Leinster's highest mountain.[8] [9]

Kippure has two corrie lakes on its north-east flank, Lough Bray Upper and Lough Bray Lower.[9] The slopes of Kippure hold the sources of several rivers, including tributaries that feed the River Liffey from the Liffey Head Bog on the western slopes of Tonduff, and tributaries that feed the River Dodder.[9]

Kippure's prominence of 262m (860feet) qualifies it as a Marilyn, and it also ranks it as the 32nd-highest mountain in Ireland on the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres (328').[10] [11]

On very clear days, Kippure can be seen from Wales.[12]

Transmission site

At the summit of Kippure stands a 127m (417') television and radio transmitter mast. This is the oldest television transmission site in Ireland and was initially selected as a potential VHF FM radio transmitter site during the course of a Radio Éireann survey in the mid-1950s. The Irish Board of Works built an access road to the site in 1959, and the transmitter installation work was then started by the British company Pye Ltd. By the summer of 1961 the mast was erected[13] and test transmissions followed, consisting of slide views of Ireland, a test-card, and the music of Count John McCormack.

Telefís Éireann began with transmission from Kippure on 31 December 1961 using the British 405-line TV standard on VHF Band III channel 7, to be followed by a 625-line service on channel H in the summer of 1962. Kippure was the first of the original five main Telefís Éireann transmitters to come into service, the others being, Truskmore (1962), Mount Leinster (1963), Maghera (1963), and Mullaghanish (1963).

VHF FM transmission of RTÉ Radio (the former Radio Éireann) commenced in 1966, with stereo broadcasting beginning in 1969.

405-line transmission from Kippure ceased in 1978 with the arrival of RTÉ 2, however, Kippure did not transmit RTÉ 2 until much later. Initially on Channel J at low power later moving to Channel H with RTÉ 1 moving to Channel E.

Kippure's importance in radio and television transmission has diminished since the late 1970s with the opening of three new UHF transmitter sites at Three Rock in County Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Clermont Carn in County Louth, and Cairn Hill in County Longford, which provide better reception in most areas previously served only by Kippure. Today the Irish DTT service, Saorview, the national FM radio stations, and some commercial radio stations are broadcast from the site.

Current transmissions

Digital television

FrequencyUHFkWMultiplexPol
578 MHz34125Saorview 1H
586 MHz35125Saorview 2H

FM radio

FrequencykWServiceNotes
89.1 MHz50RTÉ Radio 1Shared with RnaG before 1985
91.3 MHz50RTÉ 2fm95.3 MHz before 1985
93.5 MHz50RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta89.1 MHz before 1985
98.7 MHz50RTÉ lyric fmSince 1999
100.9 MHz50Today FMSince 1997

Kippure relay transmitters

DTT RelayCountyMux 1Mux 2kWPol
LaraghWicklow47440.025H
RathnewWicklow22250.5V

Bibliography

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kippure. MountainViews Online Database. 8 February 2019.
  2. Web site: Irish Hill and Mountain Names. MountainViews.ie. Paul Tempan. February 2012.
  3. Web site: Arderins: Irish mountains of 500+m with a prominence of 30m. MountainViews Online Database. Simon Stewart. October 2018.
  4. Web site: Vandeleur-Lynams: Irish mountains of 600+m with a prominence of 15m. MountainViews Online Database. Simon Stewart. October 2018.
  5. Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork,
  6. Book: MountainViews Online Database (Simon Stewart). 2013 . A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins . Collins Books . 978-1-84889-164-7.
  7. Book: MountainViews Online Database (Simon Stewart). 2013 . A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins . Collins Books . 978-1-84889-164-7.
  8. Book: Dillion . Paddy . The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits . Cicerone . 978-1852841102 . 1993 . Walk 2: Tonduff and Kippure.
  9. Book: Fairbairn . Helen . Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide . Collins Press . 978-1848892019 . 2014 . Route 10: Kippure and the two Lough Brays.
  10. Web site: Irish Highest 100: The highest 100 Irish mountains with a prominence of +100m. MountainViews Online Database. September 2018.
  11. Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork,
  12. Web site: Wales from Ireland. 2023-02-03. telescoper.wordpress.com.
  13. Web site: RTÉ NL. Video: Building the transmitter Network. RTÉ NL. 2012-11-06.