Slieve Foy is one of two ridges which make up the Cooley Mountains[3] and is separated from the rest of the range by the Windy Gap.

Finn is said to have beaten Ruscaire by throwing a boulder across the lough at him, which became the Cloughmore (The Big Stone) on Slieve Martin.

[4] The mountain also appears in the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley).

[5] A local businessman began organising leprechaun-related tourist activities in the area in 1989, including a "leprechaun hunt" to find hidden ceramic figures.

In 2009, with support from local councillors, the mountain was formally declared a "Designated Area of Protection for Flora, Fauna, Wild Animals and Little People" under the EU Habitats Directive.