The Three Aghlas

The Aghlas are a cluster of three hilltops on the route between Muckish and Errigal. I was curious during fieldwork to see what names are used for them locally. Not least since the 19thC Ordnance Survey fieldworkers referred to what is now called Aghla Beg as Aghla More and vice versa. And of course, there is no name recorded for the middle of the three Aghlas, which is in fact the highest at 602m.

Well I found that the peak which dominates Altan Loch is called Eachla or Aghla More and the one behind is referred to as Aghla Beg. I got no definitive local name for the highest middle Aghla, but local hillwalkers refer to it as Ard Loch na mBreac Beadaí.

Loch na mBreac Beadaí lies at the foot of Aghla Beg, the term ‘breac beadaí’ refers to trout that are tricky to catch. So the name means the Ard or height of Loch na mBreac Beadaí. According to the OS records though this name applies to a smaller hill adjacent to said lake. But it appears to be transferred now by popular use to this, the middle Aghla.

#eastwestmapping

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