Slievenamon Day Climb celebrated mountain's pivotal role in Irish history

The Irish flag was proudly flown on Slievenamon on Sunday and Tipperary’s anthem named after the peak was sung by more than 60 people gathered to celebrate the mountain’s iconic place in the country’s history.

Historian Dr Thomas McGrath and Tipperary Rose Tara Brady led the annual Slievenamon Day Climb that commemorates the Young Irelanders 1848 monster meeting protest but also the mountain’s other rich history and heritage.

This was the third year of the commemoration climb of the mountain organised by Kilcash Slievenamon 1848 Commemoration Committee and Lingaun Valley Tourism Group with support from Tipperary County Council.

Apart from a shower of rain near the summit, weather conditions were perfect for the hike that began in Kilcash village at noon.

The event is staged on the third Sunday in July, the anniversary of the monster meeting organised to protest over the continued export of food from the country during the Great Famine and attended by a reputed 50,000 people. The protest was a prelude to the 1848 Young Irelander Rebellion that erupted in Ballingarry shortly afterwards.

The Tipperary Rose, who travelled all the way from Ballina, said she was delighted to accept the invitation to take part in the commemoration climb of Slievenamon.

“I am particularly interested in Irish history, culture and heritage,” she told The Nationalist. “ I am at the tail end of completing a masters degree in Public History & Cultural History at the University of Limerick and hope from September onwards to work on a more professional level as an historian.

“I bumped into Dr Tom McGrath at the Clonmel Show and he asked me to come along to this commemoration. I was delighted because they are trying to get the Slievenamon Day off the ground and I believe it’s important to commemorate the history of Tipperary and the Famine in particular.”

In his speech at the summit, Dr Mc Grath from Ballingarry said Slievenamon Day celebrated the history, heritage and environment of the mountain.

He reviewed the ancient, medieval and early modern history of the mountain and said the third Sunday in July was an appropriate day for the climb as the greatest meeting ever held on the mountain took place on that day during the Great Famine.

Dr McGrath quoted from the speeches given at the monster meeting by Young Irelander leaders, the barrister Michael Doheny of Brookhill, Fethard and Cashel and Thomas Francis Meagher of Waterford, whose ancestors were from Tullohea near Kilcash.

He recounted how the first Irish tricolour flag that Meagher presented to the Wolfe Tone Club in Waterford, was also flown on Slievenamon’s summit at the protest.

He said the monster meeting was the biggest gathering of people ever on Slievenamon summit even though it took place in the middle of the Great Famine.

“Our ancestors showed their perseverance and resilience and their never give in spirit. The message they have sent down to us through the generations from 1848 is never give up no matter how difficult the circumstances.

“Today the Slievenamon Day Climb is a distinctly Irish event, an uniquely Irish expression of Irish identity where we celebrate our heritage over thousands of of years.”

He concluded by expressing the hope that the commemoration will continue for many years.

“I hope in years to come that the children here (on Slievenamon) today will be able to say I was here on this day in 2024.

Long may it continue to be so on the third Sunday in July every year.”

Dr McGrath’s speech was followed by the singing of Slievenamon by the gathered hikers led by Dr Traolach Ó'Ríordáin, who is Director of Irish Studies at the University of Montana in the US.

The Cork native, who is spending a year back living in Ireland, climbed Slievenamon with his family to see where Montana’s first governor Thomas Francis Meagher addressed the 1848 monster meeting.

Dr Ó'Ríordáin, who has lived in the US for about 30 years, is involved in making a documentary about Meagher, who went onto serve as a Union side general in the American Civil War after his exile from Ireland following the 1848 Young Irelanders Rebellion.

“Thomas Francis Meagher is probably the founding father of Irish-American nationalism and was an iconic figure in Montana,” he said. “The two largest statues in Montana are the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Butte and Thomas Francis Meagher in the state capital Helena.”

Dr Ó'Ríordáin said the Slievenamon Day Commemoration was a very important way of passing on the story of such important historial figures as Meagher to future generations.

It reminded him of the weekend festival organised in Montana in June every year in memory of Meagher. It was a family event where children can learn in a fun way about their heritage and that he was important figure in their history.

Two descendants of Thomas Francis Meagher, Jerome and Peter Tyrrell from Grangemockler, were among those who made the pilgrimage to the top of Slievenamon on Sunday.

Jerome said his late mother Philomena’s maiden name was Meagher. “We did the climb for last year’s commemoration and we will keep it up while we are able,” he quipped.

After their descent from the mountain, commemoration participants gathered in Kehoe’s Pub in Kilcash for refreshments and to watch the All-Ireland Senior Hurling final.

There will be another chance to mark the events of 1848 at the 18th annual Famine 1848 Walk in Ballingarry this Saturday, July 27 at 3pm. It will be led by Martin Maher, Ballingarry 1848 Committee Chairman and Editor of the Ballingarry Parish Journal