"The last pool of darkness"……….. Connemara as described by the renowned 20th century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein.
The photo was taken roadside between Screebe and Cashel at the dimming of another spectacular November day in the west.

The summits are part of the great highland range - Na Beanna Beola - translated as Beola's peaks. Beola was a very obsure, local giant/chieftain. According to tradition he is buried in the tiny village of Toombeola.
The range is much more commonly known as The Twelve Bens. The dozen peaks range in height from 1900 to 2490 feet.

The Bens consist of quartzite rock just like Croagh Patrick (Mayo), Errigal (Donegal) and the Sugar Loaf (Wicklow). Once of sandstone, the rock metamorphosed into hard quartzite. The other great Connemara massif is Mám Tuirc (Boar's Pass)....known in English as the Maumturks. They lie a few miles east of the Twelve Bens.

The lowlands in the foreground of the photo were once made up of softer clay materials and were eventually worn down into schist, a coarse grained rock with layers of different minerals.

The bog-brown Connemara lakes and rivers are renowned fishing grounds... salmon and sea trout being the main attraction.

The Connemara region, at 800 square miles, is 4 times the size of theBurren. It is a wild and mysterious place......a magnificent distraction across Galway Bay from us.

Reference - The Mountains of Connemara by Joss Lynam, published by Folding Landscapes in 1988. The definitive guide and map of the Connemara uplands