Mount Leinster

Mount Leinster
Stua Laighean

Mount Leinster with its transmission mast
Highest point
Elevation 796 m (2,612 ft)
Prominence 725 m (2,379 ft)
Listing Hewitt, Marilyn
Geography
Mount Leinster

Location in Ireland

Location Counties Wexford and Carlow, Ireland
Parent range Blackstairs Mountains
OSI/OSNI grid S826525

Mount Leinster (Irish: Stua Laighean) is a 796-metre-high (2,612 ft) mountain in the Republic of Ireland. It straddles the border between Counties Carlow and Wexford, in the province of Leinster. It is the fifth highest mountain after Lugnaquilla 925m, Mullaghcleevaun 849m, Tonelagee 817m, and Cloghernagh 800m in Leinster and the highest of the Blackstairs Mountains. A 2RN transmission site tops the peak with a mast height of 122 m.

The transmission site is a popular location for hang gliding and RC Glider enthusiasts to launch from. In 2003, a hang glider pilot died from injuries sustained in the crash landing of his flight launched from the mountain.[1] There is a memorial at the peak of the mountain.

The mountain is most often climbed from the Nine Stones, a landmark point at the foot of Mount Leinster, about 8 miles east of Borris. From Borris there is a road to a visitor car park on the mountain. From there the steep 2RN access road leads to the summit. This road is closed to normal traffic and 2RN have now fenced off the transmitter mast from public access to prevent vandalism.

The Nine Stones and the car park lie on the saddle between Mount Leinster and the nearby Slievebawn (Sliabh Bán; 52°38′18.6″N 6°48′33.32″W; 520m). There are in fact ten stones. They are arranged in a line and the largest is about 50 cm high. The origin of the stones is uncertain.

Cycling: Mount Leinster has been used in stages of the Tour of Ireland and on many occasions in the FBD Insurance Rás (Rás Tailteann). It may be climbed from the Borris side in County Carlow or the Bunclody side in County Wexford. Ascending from Borris the climb is 11 km long and has an average gradient of 6.9%. The last two kilometres are very tough reaching a gradient of almost 16%. Although the climb from Bunclody is slightly longer at 13 km its average gradient is 5.9%. The last kilometre of this climb is difficult with a gradient of 16.3%. The mountain is also used by The ML Syndicate (mountain biking club) who use the area for trail riding and MTB sporting events .[2]

Transmission site

The Mount Leinster transmitter is owned and operated by 2RN and at 796m ASL it is the highest transmission site in Ireland. It was one of the original five main Telefís Éireann television transmitters when it opened on low power in December 1962. It became fully operational on 12 June 1963 with a 625-line service on VHF Band III Channel F. The new RTÉ Radio FM service was added in 1966, and RTÉ's second television channel RTÉ 2 was carried on VHF when it started in 1978. UHF television transmissions from Mount Leinster began in 1996 with the introduction of Teilifís na Gaeilge. The original 1962 mast was replaced in 2010 with a taller one of 122m in preparation for digital television transmissions. In common with all the other 2RN sites, analogue television transmissions from Mount Leinster ceased on 24 October 2012. Today the site provides the Irish digital television service Saorview, and eight FM radio stations to a large area of South East Ireland.

Current transmissions

Digital television

Frequency UHF kW Multiplex Pol
490 MHz 23 160 Saorview 1 H
514 MHz 26 160 Saorview 2 H

Analogue FM radio

Frequency kW Service
89.6 MHz 200 RTÉ Radio 1
91.8 MHz 200 RTÉ 2fm
99.2 MHz 200 RTÉ lyric fm
94.0 MHz 200 RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
101.4 MHz 200 Today FM
102.0 MHz 6 Beat 102 103
107.2 MHz 8 Newstalk
95.6 MHz 4 South East Radio

List of Mount Leinster DTT relay transmitters

Relay transmitter County Mux 1 Mux 2 kW Pol
Arklow Wicklow 21 24 0.25 V
Cahir Tipperary 28 25 0.06 V
Clonmel Tipperary 55 59 0.5 H
Forth Mountain Wexford 52 56 0.5 V
Gallows Hill Waterford 22 25 0.25 V
Gorey Wexford 55 59 0.01 H
Kilmacthomas Waterford 46 49 0.01 V
Suir Valley Kilkenny 52 56 2 V

See also

Aircraft:- Rheims/Cessna F182

Registration:- G-BKGY

Pilot-In-Command:- N. R. Harper

Passengers:- 3 passengers – including Stephen Harris who held a PPL with an assistant flying Instructor rating

1 Male passenger

1 Female passenger

Injuries:- 4 Fatal

Intended Flight:- Birmingham – Kilkenny

Alternate Dublin.

The aircraft departed Birmingham at 0745 hrs GMT. At 0905 hrs GMT the aircraft contacted Shannon ATC and advised that he estimated Kilkenny at 0935 hrs GMT. At 0915 hrs GMT he advised Shannon that he was leaving 6,000 ft descending to 3,000 ft. At 0918 hrs GMT the pilot advised that he was ten miles east of the coast and passing through 4,000 ft. That was the last message received from G-BKGY.

At 21.00 the aircraft wreckage was discovered at Mt. Leinster, 30 ft from the summit which is 2,409 ft. There were no survivors.

References

  1. ↑ Irish Examiner report, 1 May 2004. Retrieved 2008-07-21
  2. ↑ http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Leinster-Mount&qryMountainID=7208

Other projects

Media related to Mount Leinster at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 52°37′04″N 6°46′45″W / 52.617683°N 6.77904°W / 52.617683; -6.77904

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.