Highest points of all 32 counties mapped by Athlone locals

A plan to visit and record the trails to the highest points of all 32 counties of Ireland was completed earlier this year by two Athlone locals, Shane Gough and Luke Callinan.

Shane and Luke's trails, documented through Google Maps and a YouTube channel entitled “Irish County Peaks”, ranged from short and long walks at lower highpoints in counties such as Longford, Westmeath and Kildare, to challenging hikes to the top of Slieve Donard in County Down, Benbaun in Connemara (County Galway) and Carrauntoohil in Kerry - Ireland's highest point.

Shane is a native of Retreat Park in Athlone, while Luke is from Kiltoom.

Speaking about the endeavour Shane said: "The idea to visit and record the highest points of every county in Ireland came to us during the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions when people were being encouraged to holiday in Ireland and discover more of the country instead of travelling abroad.

"We had both done a few of the usual mountain walks but we wanted to do something different and also to document it."

Luke explained: "The idea of the Google map and YouTube Channel is simply to give a decent practical guide for anyone who wants to do the same thing, or even for anyone who just wants to pick and choose particular county high points they would like to visit.

“There’s information on the Google map link for each county highpoint regarding where best to park your car or bike, how long the trail takes, the type of terrain, what footwear is most suitable, as well as some information on local restaurants and pubs near the starting point.

"A YouTube video link is also provided for each high point where you can watch a two to three minute clip showing the route to give an idea of terrain, the correct direction to walk in and so on."

The trails are a mix of everything from straightforward, clearly-marked gravel paths all the way up and back to completely unmarked routes

“Hopefully these tools will help anyone who wants to do a bit of exploring in the new year in that it cuts out a lot of time searching online and researching the hike,” Luke added.

The pair's Google Maps link and YouTube videos can be accessed via countypeaks.ie.

An Instagram reel can be viewed here, and the YouTube channel is here.