The Slieve Bloom Mountains (Sliabh Bladhma)

Gentle, ancient mountains rising from the central plain of Ireland.

Among the oldest mountains in Europe, the Slieve Blooms straddle Laois and Offaly and were once thought to be the tallest in the country. Their blanket bogs, glens and waterfalls are now a protected nature reserve and walking area.

At a glance

• Among Europe's oldest mountains
• Straddle Laois and Offaly
• Arderin, 527 m, is the high point

In County Laois

The Slieve Bloom Mountains is in County Laois, Laois in Irish, which means “the people of Lugaid Laígne”.

More in Laois

• The Rock of Dunamase (Dún Másc): A ruined hilltop fortress in County Laois, guarding the plains for over a thousand years.

Other places of this kind

• Carrauntoohil (Corrán Tuathail): The highest mountain in Ireland, standing at 1,038.6 meters.
• Croagh Patrick (Cruach Phádraig): Ireland's holy mountain, climbed by pilgrims for over a thousand years in honour of St Patrick.
• Slieve League (Sliabh Liag): Among the highest sea cliffs in Europe, rising almost 600 metres from the Atlantic in County Donegal.
• Benbulben (Binn Ghulbain): The dramatic flat-topped 'table mountain' of County Sligo, at the heart of Yeats Country and Irish legend.
• The Mourne Mountains (Beanna Boirche): A range of granite peaks in County Down, and the inspiration for songs and for the land of Narnia.
• The Sperrin Mountains (Sléibhte Speirín): A sweeping range of rounded hills across counties Tyrone and Derry, and one of the largest upland areas in Ireland.

The Irish name

The Irish form of The Slieve Bloom Mountains is Sliabh Bladhma. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.