The Nire Valley | Hiking to the Sgilloge Loughs

It rained every 20 mins, and every other 20 mins.. the sun came out! The Comeraghs Mountains, which means place of the hollows or ‘Coums’, form part of the North Munster fault line along with the Galtees, Knockmealdowns and Slievenamon. All of these armorican fold mountains run East/West. The name Nire Valley comes from the Irish Gleann na hUidhre, which probably means glen or valley of the yellow/brown place or cow. The area known as the Nire, lies on the western side of the Comeraghs and hosts a treasure trove of coums and lakes. The Sgilloges are two of the six lakes in the Nire Valley. You will see a waterfall cascading from the top of the mountain on the back wall of the first lake. This waterfall is called “Bean Píobra” which means “Woman with the Pipe”. It has been given this name because when the wind blows from the south west, the water is blown back over the waterfall, and from a distance it looks like smoke rising. Sgilloge Loughs - “Com Sciollóg”. [meaning “Hollow of the Cut-Off Halves”] WATERFORD - COUNTY GEOLOGICAL SITE REPORT Outline Site Description: Sgilloge Loughs Corrie is a deep glacial corrie situated along the northern flank of the Comeragh Mountains. Geological System/Age and Primary Rock Type: The feature was formed during the Quaternary (Ice Age) by glacier ice scouring out a deep, armchair-shaped hollow at the edge of the mountains. The majority of the feature therefore comprises ice-scoured bedrock, which itself is of Devonian age, informally called the Old Red Sandstone. The rock itself is mostly conglomerate. Main Geological or Geomorphological Interest: This corrie has an almost-vertical backwall up to 230m in height. Two pater noster lakes floor the feature, so called because they form a series of linear lakes connected by a single stream, similar to the form and outline of rosary beads (hence ‘Pater Noster’, or ‘Our Father’ in Latin). The corrie is bounded by a particularly impressive end moraine ridge, which stretches across the entrance to the valley and partially bounds the lake features. The moraine comprises well-drained, bouldery material, and the area around Sgilloge Loughs Corrie is littered with large erratic boulders. The ice has scoured out blocks of these leaving some spectacular rock crags and benches along the valley backwall and sides. Site Importance: This is a particularly impressive corrie feature, being wide and steep. The rock crags and benches also add to its uniqueness. This is part of a complex of Quaternary geology of national importance. Management/promotion issues: The corrie has a rough pathway up to it and little promotional signage in the general area. Though the feature is potentially under-promoted, the absence of a cut/built path and signs in fact helps to protect the locality as a pristine portion of montane terrain. The site is already part of the Comeraghs Mountains Special Area of Conservation and pNHA (SAC – 001952).