Slievenamon is not just a sandstone hump overlooking the Golden Vale. It is a literary landmark and the title of Tipperary's anthem. Sliabh na mBan - Mountain of the Women - is renowned also in legend.

The young women of the Compsey Valley raced up its slopes in an attempt to win the hand of Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Grβinne was victorious but then eloped with Diarmuid.

More recently, the area inspired the 19th-century Fenian and writer Charles Kickham, born in Mullinahone, nearby.

The indomitable Kickham, who was nearly blind and almost completely deaf due to an accident at the age of 14, wrote mainly in celebration of place. His most famous novel, Knocknagow, ran to 28 editions between 1873 and 1944, while Slievenamon remains his best-loved ballad.

Slievenamon presents no climbing problems for those taking the traditional route, (walking time is about two hours). Drive north through Kilcash village and turn left at the top of the hill.

About 400 yards past a sharp bend, park near a signpost directing you to a track that leads to the summit.

Weather permitting, you can enjoy views of the Comeraghs, the Knockmealdowns, the Galtees, Keeper Hill and Mount Leinster. You will pass a hideous television pillbox that should be demolished.

Below the summit cairn (2,368 feet) is a large flat rock known as Fionn's Table. It was on this spot that Thomas Francis Meagher and Michael Doheny addressed 50,000 people in July 1848.

A poster preserved in the National Archives records that the purpose of the meeting was to demonstrate "their determination to obtain Irish independence by constitutional means if possible".

A nervous British government suspended habeas corpus, however, and the Young Ireland rising followed.