A demon, a medieval manuscript, and a 19th-century stalker at Tipperary scenic spot

You can see this mountain — which may or may not have a 'bite' taken out of it by the devil — from the Cork-Dublin train

Left: Devil's Bit Mountain. Right: Carden's Folly. And 1854 Cork Examiner coverage of the trial of John Carden for the abduction of Eleanor Arbuthnot

In profile, it is one of our most iconic mountains. Generations of travellers on the Dublin-Cork railway have gazed in fascination at the unmissable gash in its flat summit, which is clearly visible from around Templemore. Many Irish peaks have attracted a mixture of superstition and worship for centuries, and Tipperary's Devil's Bit Mountain is no exception.

A charming legend suggests that this gash is attributable to a demon fleeing St Patrick. Realising that his days were numbered, he took an angry bite from the Devil’s Bit summit. Afterward, he did a monumental service for Irish tourism when he spat it out to form the Rock of Cashel. Unfortunately, scientifically minded spoilsports have pointed out that the Devil's Bit is entirely sandstone while the Rock of Cashel is a limestone outcrop.