Gravale (Irish: Droibhéal, meaning 'difficult passage')[2] at 718 metres (2,356 ft), is the 79th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale,[3] and the 98th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.[4][5] Gravale is in the middle sector of the Wicklow Mountains range, in Wicklow, Ireland.[6] Gravale sits on a north-east to south-west "boggy ridge" that forms the "central spine" of the whole range, which runs from the Sally Gap, to Carrigvore 682 metres (2,238 ft), to Gravale, and after a col to Duff Hill 720 metres (2,360 ft), which is part of the larger massif of Mullaghcleevaun 849 metres (2,785 ft).[6][7]
According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, the historian Eoin MacNeill, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (JRSAI), thought that the Irish name "Drobeóil", as listed in the Metrical Dinsenchas, had survived the mountain name "Gravale".[2] Tempan also notes that historical maps of the estates in which Gravale lies suggest that the col between Gravale and Duff Hill was known as "Lavarna" or "Lavarnia", from the Irish "Leath-Bhearna", meaning "half-gap", and that this was likely a difficult trail from the Blessington lakes area to Lough Dan.[2]
Bibliography
Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN978-1848892118.
Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN978-1848892019.
^ abMountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, ISBN978-1-84889-164-7
^ abFairbairn, Helen (2014). Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN978-1848892019.
^Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. ISBN978-1852841102. Walk 4: Carrigvore, Gravale, Duff Hill, Mullaghcleevaun East Top, Mullaghcleevaun