Madam, - Seán McConnell's hiking articles help to brighten up overcast Saturday mornings. His consistently high standards, however, slipped a teeny bit last Saturday. His claim that Wicklow's highest peak, Lugnaquilla, "is named after Lu or Lugh, the great god of light who led the De Danaans at the battle of Moytura" is unlikely to have any basis in fact.
The placenames of upland areas of south Wicklow are, overwhelmingly, derived from local topographical features and family names. Thus Lugnaquilla is almost certainly derived from "log na coille", meaning "the hollow of the wood". The "hollow" may refer to the precipitous hollows of the north or south prisons or to a place called Crossrahnyeen hollow, near the Ow River, which flows off Lug (See Liam Price's Place-names of Wicklow, Parts 2 and 3).
One final quibble. The article advises intending Lug hikers to "drive to Aghavanagh, near Donard". This is misleading, since these two places are on opposite sides of the mountain. - Yours, etc,
TOM HANAHOE,
Churchfield Manor,
Killala,
Co Mayo.