The Filling Station Camp
A handy coffee stop in Camp after a day on the Slieve Mish Mountains. Check Instagram for current opening times.
Camp, Co. KerryHardHigh circuit · Dingle · recorded
Barr Trí gCom
High above three hollows.
A hard recorded circuit onto the highest ground of the Slieve Mish Mountains, crossing rough, exposed slopes to the 851 m summit of Barr Trí gCom.
Also known as Baurtregaum.
DISTANCE
9.55km
ASCENT
815m
HIGH POINT
849m
Rob’s recorded time 4 hr 01 · steep, exposed mountain circuit · 618 recorded track points GRADE GUIDE ↗
Reading the map…
INTERACTIVE TERRAIN · ACTUAL GPX TRACKACTUAL GPX TRACK
A recorded time is not a planning estimate. Build your own from pace, ascent, ground, weather and daylight.
ONE · BEFORE YOU COMMIT
Is this your day?
The grade, the hazards, the forecast and the ground the route actually crosses. Everything you need to decide whether to go at all.
WEATHER AT A GLANCE
Forecast for around 850 m
Approx. 850 mNOWReading the forecast
WINDReading the forecast
TODAY’S PEAK RAIN CHANCEReading the forecast
Forecast. This is a modelled estimate for this route’s high ground; conditions can differ sharply across the mountain. Detailed planning guidance follows. Derived from Open-Meteo forecast data ↗.
RECORDED ELEVATION
An 815 m climb to the 851 m summit.
The compact circuit rises steeply from the southern approach to the broad summit plateau before returning on a separate descent. The summit is 851 m on Ordnance Survey mapping; the recording’s own high point reads 849 m.
849 m223 m
Reading the forecast
0 km815 m ascent · 819 m descent9.55 km
THE LINE
A high Slieve Mish circuit of rock, cloud and coast.
The recording begins on the southern side of the Slieve Mish Mountains and climbs quickly away from the valley. Rough open ground leads to the broad, stony summit of Barr Trí gCom, Baurtregaum on the Ordnance Survey sheet, marked by its trig pillar. The high route opens immense views across the peninsula and towards the coast before descending on a separate line to close the circuit near the start.
The three coums
The name says what the mountain is: the summit of the three coums. Naming them individually took longer. Patrick Flahive of Shanakeal, on the south side, gave them to his daughter Mary for the Schools’ Collection in the 1930s as Koum Mhuire Mór, Derrymore Koum and Koum Breac.
Com Doire Mhóir, the western one, takes its name from the townland of Derrymore below it and holds a few small corrie lakes. Com Breac to the east is the upper part of Gleann Breac, and breac is dappled or mottled.
Com Mhuire Mór
The third, the smaller lakeless one on the north side between the other two, is the one nobody has settled. Muire in a placename usually points to Our Lady, which does not fit this ground at all. Barry Dalby has suggested that the written muire may stand for múr, a wall or a rampart, since the back of the middle coum rises very steeply to the summit, which would make it the coum of the great wall. His own objection is that walkers and climbers call such places walls but Irish upland placenames do not.
So the third coum of the three is still open. If you know of múr used that way on a hill anywhere else, that is the sort of thing that would settle it.
Caherconree, 22 m off
One more thing sits on this circuit. Twenty-two metres off the recorded line is Caherconree, National Monument 184, the inland promontory fort on the spur at 625 m with its 110-metre wall shutting the one open approach. It is the same fort the Cathair Conraoi route is named for, and that page describes it.
- 01Southern approachThe recording begins at approximately 230 m and climbs directly onto open mountain ground.
- 02Steep ascentA sustained climb crosses rough grass, bog and broken rock towards the upper ridge.
- 03Barr Trí gComThe route reaches the broad summit plateau and trig pillar, the 851 m high point of the Slieve Mish Mountains.
- 04High traverseThe recorded line continues across exposed high ground with wide coastal and mountain views.
- 05Circuit descentA separate descent returns towards the southern approach and closes the loop near the start.
The three coum names come from Patrick Flahive of Shanakeal, recorded by his daughter Mary of Fybagh National School in the Schools’ Collection, by way of Barry Dalby of EastWest Mapping ↗, writing in September 2022. The reading of muire as múr is Dalby’s suggestion and he flags the problem with it himself; it is not a settled derivation and is not treated as one here. Com Doire Mhóir looks down on the Derrymore Glen Loop. Caherconree is Archaeological Survey record KE046-003, measured from the recorded GPX to its published coordinate and described on the Cathair Conraoi route.
Reading the forecast
WIND NOWReading the forecast
—cloud
—humidity
—km/h peak gust
Strongest wind today—
Peak gust—
RECENT RAINFALL · LIKELY GROUND
Reading the forecast
RAIN, GUST & VISIBILITY WINDOW
Reading the forecast
BEST HIKING WINDOW
Reading the forecast
DAYLIGHT PLAN
Reading the forecast
MET ÉIREANN · KERRY
Reading the forecast
NEXT SIX HOURS · swipe
Reading the forecast
HAZARDS & OPTIONSKnow the commitment.
This is a steep, strenuous mountain route with roughly 815 m of ascent in under 10 km.
The summit plateau is broad and featureless in cloud; accurate navigation is essential.
The route crosses wet, pathless ground, loose rock and steep slopes where progress can be slow.
High winds, poor visibility and rapidly changing weather can make the exposed upper mountain serious.
Keep well back from corrie rims and steep broken ground, especially in cloud or strong wind.
Turn back along the known ascent before committing to the high circuit if cloud, wind or fatigue is building. From the summit plateau, do not improvise a descent into unseen corries or steep ground; use the recorded line and independent mapping.
HIGH SLIEVE MISH
Rob’s photographs.
TWO · YOU’VE DECIDED
Getting there.
Where it starts, the recorded file, and the checks worth making before you leave the house.
PLAN THE GROUND
Start well.
RECORDED STARTSouthern Slieve Mish approach
Select coordinates to copy
The recording starts on a narrow mountain road with very limited space. Park only where it is safe and legal without blocking homes, gates, farm access or the road. This is working hill country: check current access locally and leave every gate as found.
ROUTE FILE
Take the recorded route with you.
618 recorded track points, exactly as walked. Load it into your watch, phone or offline mapping before you leave signal.
Distance, track geometry and elevation come from Rob’s supplied GeoJSON; recorded time comes from the supplied GPX. Access and conditions must be checked independently.
Download original GPXbarr-tri-gcom.gpx · as recordedGeoJSONKML
Onto a watch: import the GPX into Garmin Connect, Komoot or Strava and send it to the device from there. On a phone, the Garmin Explore and OS Maps apps take the file straight from the share sheet.
BEFORE YOU GO
Read the ground. Keep your margin.
Conditions can change the seriousness of any recorded route.
Your quick checksOptional and saved only in this browser.
0/5 checkedThese checks support your planning; they do not confirm that the route is safe.
- 01Check conditionsReview forecasts and warnings before leaving.
- 02Navigate independentlyCarry suitable mapping and know how to use it.
- 03Protect your marginTurn back early if the day exceeds your experience.
- 04Share your planLeave your route and expected return time with someone.
Leave a plan.
Tell someone your route and return time. For emergencies in Ireland call 112 or 999 and ask for Mountain Rescue.
More in Dingle.
All 29 recorded routes →AFTER THE WALK
Post-hike picks.
A small, personal shortlist around Camp and the Slieve Mish Mountains. Check current opening times before making the journey.
Tomásín’s Bar & Restaurant
A traditional pub and restaurant in Stradbally for food or a post-hike drink. Check Instagram for current opening times.
Stradbally, Castlegregory, Co. Kerry, V92 AD65