From the summit the area around Blackstairs Mountain seems quiet and isolated, yet this mountain is the backdrop to many of the rich traditions, stories, and songs that show how vibrant community life in this area is now and was in the past.
On the last Sunday in July each year, locals gather at ‘The Meetings’ in Cooliagh Gap to celebrate Mountain Sunday or Fraughan Sunday. This is a social gathering full of song, talk, music, and dance. People gather ‘fraughans,’ known elsewhere as bilberries, which grow on the mountain in summer. Although it had fallen away for a time, Mountain Sunday has recently been brought back to life by the local community.
Halfway up the mountain, a rocky outcrop called ‘Cahir Rua’s Den’ is named after a Robin Hood-like outlaw from the late 1600s and early 1700s. Folklore tells that he kept horses within this den, a hollow sheltered by the surrounding rock. The den provides stunning views and people often climb up to it as part of Mountain Sunday.
Though Ireland remained neutral during World War II, war came twice to the Blackstairs. Early on 1 January 1941, a German aircraft dropped eight bombs on nearby Knockroe, killing three members of the Shannon family. Then, in October 1941, a German plane crashed near the summit of Blackstairs Mountain, killing all on board. Both of these incidents have left a strong legacy in the local communities and are recalled through song and story to this day.
(Video courtesy Adam Butler and Tony Asple)