The mountains appear in Irish folklore tales, and the deep corrie lakes of the Galtys were believed to be enchanted. In early Irish literature, the mountains are called , which was the name of the surrounding territory. As can also mean a celtic harp, the name was interpreted as mountains of Cliach's harps, and there is a tale of a legendary harper called Cliach playing his harps in the mountains to woo an otherworldly woman who lived in the summit cairn on Slievenamon. After failing, he plays his two harps together, and the hill bursts open and forms a lake. This lake is Lough Muskry, which is named after the Múscraige people that lived in the south of Ireland.