Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

praise the lord

Resurrection: The five-metre cross on Carrauntoohil has been put back up

The cross at the summit has been in place since 1976.

Carrauntoohil Cross Reinstated1 Valerie O'Sullivan Valerie O'Sullivan

THE STEEL CROSS on top of  Carrauntoohil has been re-erected this afternoon, one week after it was cut down with an angle grinder.

The five-metre tall cross was first erected in 1976 but climbers on Ireland’s tallest peak reached the summit last Saturday to find that it had been felled.

Today though the cross was reinstated following a decision to do so by the MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Forum.

The cross was reinstated by including members of local Beaufort Community Council and other local landowners.

There had been debate about whether to repair the cross with an Atheist group objecting to it on the grounds that it did not represent the whole community, asking that it first obtain planning permission.

Carrauntoohil Cross Reinstated3 Valerie O'Sullivan Valerie O'Sullivan

The decision to reinstate the cross was yesterday supported by Mountaineering Ireland. The representative body for walkers said in a statement that they would be “absolutely opposed to it being erected” if it had not already been there.

The group says that a 2012 debate by their members came to the consensus that there was “no place for new memorial placements on the mountains of Ireland”.

They, however, decided that some memorials have become part of the “heritage and landscape” of some mountains.

Carrauntoohil Cross Reinstated2 Valerie O'Sullivan Valerie O'Sullivan

In the case of Carrauntoohil, Mountaineering Ireland said there has been a cross on the mountain since the early 1950s with the current one in place since 1976. They also say that the cross had been cut down without debate and without the owners’ permission.

The cross is on privately owned land and Mountaineering Ireland says landowners have always allowed recreational access to Carrauntoohil.

Read: The 5-metre tall steel cross on Carrauntoohil has been cut down >

Read: Michael Healy-Rae: Whoever cut down the Carrauntoohil cross is some sort of anti-Christ >

Your Voice
Readers Comments
195
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.