Naul Hills

Naul Hills
View from Flemingtown, County Meath, towards the Naul Hills, with Knockbrack to the right
Highest point
Elevation	176 m (577 ft)[1]
Coordinates	53.571871°N 6.258884°W / 53.571871; -6.258884
Naming
Language of name	English
Geography
Naul Hills County Dublin, Ireland
Parent range	Naul Hills
OSI/OSNI grid	O133602
Topo map	OSI Discovery 43
Climbing
Easiest route	West from M1 on R122, then south on R108.

The Naul Hills, or Man-of-War Hills [2] are low-lying hills in north County Dublin, Ireland, close to the village of Naul, formerly called The Naul,[3] (Irish: An Aill, meaning 'the cliff'). They lie beside the County Meath border, 30 kilometres north of Dublin City (17 km north of the airport), 16 km north-northwest of Swords, and 8 km southwest of Balbriggan.[4]

Mounds near Knockbrack hill

Typical hill elevations run between 140 and 150 metres, with the highest point in the area being the 176m Knockbrack (Irish: An Cnoc Breac, meaning 'the speckled hill').[1][5] Limestone quarrying has been carried out in the hills, and the London Encyclopaedia (1829) remarked, "there are coals at Naul...but the coal vein is not worked."[6]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the temporary reduction in emissions as well as a period of sustained fine weather meant that Knockbrack was visible across the Irish Sea from Anglezarke, Lancashire for a period in May 2020.[7]

Summit of Knockbrack (An Cnoc Breac) in Jan 2022

References

1. Ordnance Survey map of Naul area Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Ordnance Survey Ireland. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
2. The Neighbourhood of Dublin^[usurped] by Weston St. John Joyce (3rd ed. 1920). Chapter X: Rathfarnham, Whitechurch, Kelly's Glen and Kilmashogue Mountain.
3. "Entry for Naul in A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis, 1837". Retrieved 27 November 2009.
4. "Fingal County Council, 2002". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
5. Knockbrack Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2011-12-29.
6. The London Encyclopaedia, Vol. VII, London, T. Tegg & Son, 1829. Retrieved: 2010-08-12
7. "Can you see the Republic of Ireland from England?". anglezarke.net. Retrieved 3 February 2023.

See also

• Naul, Dublin
• List of mountains in Ireland