Paps of Anu

Paps of Anu
Dá Chích Anann
Highest point
Elevation694 m (2,277 ft)
ListingBreast-shaped hills
Coordinates52°00′55″N 9°16′09″W / 52.01528°N 9.26917°W / 52.01528; -9.26917
Geography
Paps of Anu is located in Ireland
Paps of Anu
Paps of Anu
Climbing
Easiest routeFrom Rathmore, County Kerry

The Paps of Anu (Irish: Dá Chích Anann, "the breasts of Anu") are a pair of breast-shaped mountains near Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland.[1] The eastern summit, The Paps East, is 694 metres (2,277 ft) high[2] and the western top, The Paps West is 690 metres (2,260 ft) high.[3]

The mountains are named after Anu, believed to be an ancient mother goddess. Cormac's Glossary describes Anu or Danu as "the mother of the gods of Ireland".[4] On each summit is a prehistoric cairn, which may be miniature passage graves or house burial cists.[5] The cairn on the eastern Pap is slightly larger, with a height of 4 metres (13 ft) and diameter of 16 metres (52 ft). They have been described as "stone nipples on the great breasts of the mother goddess".[4] A line of stones, known as Na Fiacla, connects the two tops and is believed to have been a processional route.[6][7] Archeologist Frank Coyne suggested that the mountains were seen as sacred and said "There is little doubt that the mountaintops of both The Paps…were utilized for ritual in prehistory". To the ancients, the mountains reinforced the idea that the Earth was a motherly body.[8]

There is a stream running between the mountains. One half flows north into a small lake called Lough Nageeha and the other half flows south into the Clydagh River.

The cairn and trig pillar on top of the western Pap
  1. ^ "The Paps of Anu - Prehistoric and Early Ireland". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  2. ^ "The Paps East". MountainViews.ie. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ^ "The Paps West". MountainViews.ie. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b Monaghan 2004, p. 20
  5. ^ Coyne 2006, pp. 21–22
  6. ^ Coyne 2006, p. 24
  7. ^ Tempan, Paul (May 2010). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names" (PDF). MountainViews.ie. p. 119. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  8. ^ Monaghan 2004, p. 451