Hill lists

A hill list is a group of summits or High Points with common geographical characteristics. For example, the Irish Hewits (the official list of proper mountain summits in Ireland) each have an elevation of at least 2,000 feet and a prominence of at least 30 metres.

I am currently the only Irish resident to compile and publish an Irish hill list based on original map-based research in the 21st century. In 2015, I published 6 original Irish hill lists. No other Ireland-based individual, organisation, group or website has ever brought so many original lists to the Irish hillwalking community. My lists are now officially hosted on the High Point Ireland website and can be accessed via the black buttons below.

While researching the Ireland’s Range High Points list, I was required to identify all the Irish upland areas based on their topographical characteristics and define an accurate perimeter for each area. This study was the first time all 125 of Ireland’s upland area perimeters had been accurately plotted in detail on a map. This study also allowed me to identify all 31 mountain ranges in Ireland.

The only other original Irish hill list compiled by an Irish researcher was the now abandoned Vandeleur-Lynam list which was co-researched by Joss Lynam. That list was published way back in 1952. The original 2,000 feet version of that list has since been replaced by a 600m one where the prominence requirement is 15 metres below international standards.

Going forward, the goal is to repurpose hill lists through Sport Hillwalking competitions and the introduction of anytime hillwalking challenges. These initiatives bring an exciting new modern approach to hill lists, giving hillwalkers more flexibility by removing the need to complete All-Ireland lists in their entirety.