Overview
The view is the reason to come, not the stone. The J.B. Malone Memorial sits on the slopes of the Wicklow Mountains, a short walk from the car park along a rocky forest path and then a raised boardwalk built from railway sleepers and chicken-wire grates. The boardwalk keeps boots off the fragile blanket bog. At the end is a plain granite plaque marking the spot where John James Bernard Malone surveyed the hills he did more than anyone to open to the public.
History and legacy
Malone was born in Leeds in 1913 to Dublin parents and moved to Ireland in 1931. His first real climb was up Montpelier Hill to the Hellfire Club ruins. In the Irish Army he worked as an intelligence cartographer, mapping routes that would later turn into walking trails; he then joined the civil service without ever giving up the hills. From 1938 to 1975 he wrote a weekly Evening Herald column, ‘Over the Hills’, and in the 1960s he presented RTÉ’s ‘Mountain and Meadow’ series, which brought the Irish uplands into front rooms around the country.
His lasting mark came in 1966, when he proposed a waymarked long-distance trail through the Wicklow Mountains. As a field officer for the Long Distance Walking Routes Committee, he negotiated rights of way with landowners to make it happen. The result was the Wicklow Way, Ireland’s first officially waymarked long-distance trail, which opened in 1980. After his death in October 1989, the memorial stone was set on this section of the route, and every May An Óige, the Irish youth hostelling association, walks up to it in his memory.
The view
Looking east, the draw is Lough Tay, better known as Guinness Lake. The peat-stained water is almost black, edged on its northern shore by a narrow strip of bright white sand that the Guinness family brought in for their Luggala estate below. The Great Sugar Loaf stands to the north, Djouce rises to the west, and the bog itself changes through the year: bluebells and primroses in spring, heather turning the slopes pink and purple in late summer.
The Luggala Estate identifies the memorial and Ballinastoe Woods as places to view Lough Tay. The lake shore and the estate below are private, so enjoy the view from the viewpoint itself.
Walking and access
The viewpoint is reached on a signposted route from the J.B. Malone car park. Follow marked paths and signs, and stay on the boardwalk where one is provided.
The approach has rough, rocky sections, including the forest trail at the start. Wear footwear with grip and allow more time if the ground is wet. If you need step-free access, check the terrain before setting out, and do not rely on a boardwalk elsewhere on the trail as evidence that the whole approach is accessible.
A longer walk
The memorial is also a point on the Wicklow Way, and Djouce is the hill that people often add from here. If you are continuing on the Wicklow Way, use the route information and a current map. The open hillside can be exposed. For a short visit, turn back at the memorial rather than continuing into the mountains.
Practical information
- Getting there: roughly an hour from Dublin city centre in normal traffic. Take the M50 south, merge onto the M11 towards Wexford and follow the N11. Exit at the Kilmacanoge petrol station onto the R755 towards Roundwood, then check a current map for the final approach and parking.
- Parking: the main car park holds only a dozen or so cars, with an overflow lay-by 50 metres before the entrance. Weekends and summer holidays fill it early, so come first thing.
- Facilities: no toilets, shops or cafés at the memorial. For a meal afterwards, Roundwood is the usual stop.
- On the day: mountain weather turns fast, so bring a waterproof and proper footwear. If you bring a dog, keep it on a lead and follow signs; this is fragile upland ground.
- Leave No Trace: the site is in Wicklow Mountains National Park. Stay on the marked paths and take all litter home.
Nearby
- Ballinastoe MBT – a short detour into Ballinastoe Woods, with a dedicated mountain-bike trail centre and more forest paths.
- Luggala estate – the Guinness family estate over Lough Tay; the shore and estate are private.
Come early for a parking space, walk the boardwalk slowly to let the bog recover, and pick out the same horizon lines that Malone wrote his column around.