Slemish Mountain

Slemish Mountain is a mountain located in Northern Ireland in County Antrim. This ancient volcano, now extinct, is impossible to miss: the only mountainous formation in the area, its steep slopes are easily recognizable! An ideal place for a hike!

History of Slemish Mountain

Mountain where St. Patrick would have been held in escalation

History tells that Slemish Mountain is said to have been the place where St. Patrick, the patron saint of the Irish, lived for many years. He would have been held in slavery there, and would have spent several years of his life tending sheep for important Irish clan chiefs in the 5th century.

It would have been on this mountain that the Saint would have finally found God, and would have been entrusted with the mission of evangelizing Ireland… a mission he would carry out at the end of the 5th century.

It should also be noted that the volcano would have been the meeting place of the United Irishmen during the 17th century. It was a republican nationalist movement.

Visit Slemish Mountain

A breathtaking panorama

Slemish Mountain is generally very popular with hikers. Allow a minimum of 1h30 for the outward journey. The mountain is wild and has a strong difference in altitude: its steep slopes are therefore likely to hurt the most fragile calves!

However, reaching the summit will reward all your efforts, offering you a sumptuous view of the surroundings, with a breathtaking panorama of a peat bog on the eastern front of the mountain, and grassy areas stretching as far as the eye can see… The area is magnificent, and so wild, that the mountain is renowned for sheltering a fragile ecosystem, with a particularly rare fauna and flora.