04/06/2021
How dear to me fond memories,
Sweet recollections bring,
How often I listened the livelong day
To the thrush and blackbird sing.
How softly did that cuckoo call
From out yon willow tree,
How sweet that sound re-echoed
Round the hill of Knocknashee
~ lyrics from The Hill of Knocknashee, a traditional old song, author unrecorded.
This is the hill of Knocknashee, an unusual table-top mountain in County Sligo that rises suddenly out of nowhere to dominate the surrounding countryside. Its name means ‘Hill of the Faeries’ and, for those who believe, inside this hill are the headquarters and high court of the Fae.
On a more worldly level, at the summit of Knocknashee is an enclosed Bronze Age hill fort, one of Ireland's largest, with limestone ramparts containing cairns, burial chambers and outline of dwellings, all evidence that Knocknashee has long been of great significance to our ancestors. 🥰
(M) 💚
Pic. Martin O’Sullivan
Martin O'Sullivan Photography
