The Keshcorran Caves

The Trip to Kesh

Earlier this May, my two brothers and I took to the road to check out the Keshcorran caves. Located in county Sligo, they are one Ireland’s better known cave systems. Thanks to Airbnb, we managed to book a cosy lodge tucked away in the seemingly secluded Ox mountains. However, our accommodation turned out to be a little different than we expected, but more on that later.

The Lodge, Ox Mountains

Thanks to Google Maps we knew the car journey from Dublin would take roughly 2 and a half hours, so being in no hurry we decided to stop for a bit of lunch in Mullingar, a large town in West Meath, just under the halfway mark. A quick wander around the town for a place to eat and the signs were good. In the window of a main street bookshop, we spotted ‘Irish Fairy Forts’ a book title very much in keeping with the theme of our Gaelic excursion, while across the street the allure of ‘The Druid’s Chair,’ a local tavern called for a closer look.

Behind us: The Druid’s Chair

In the window of a Mullingar bookshop

After lunch it was back on the road and straight to Sligo. The caves situated high in the grassy Keshcorran hilltop stand like yawning limestone jaws, and are visible from some distance away. From the carpark, a short, but steep trek awaited us. The views from the hilltop alone made the effort to reach them worth it. Inside, the caves with their wide and multiple entrances felt roomy and expansive. However, navigating beyond a patch of mud in the first hilltop mouth, any sense of spaciousness quickly disappeared, and we soon found ourselves in a far darker and enclosed space.

Looking out from inside keshcorran hill

It was in these furthest recesses of the hilltop where fragments of human remains were found. According to archaeologists who examined the site, it is thought that the ancients of the region left their dead to decompose before collecting their bones to entomb in a megalithic cairn above. The Kesh hill cairn, based on its structural similarity to other hilltop cairn tombs in the surrounding area is likely an un-excavated passage grave.

The Darkest Recesses

Another feature of this cave system is the smaller passageways between some of the larger chambers. Some of which have just enough crawl space for those feeling foolhardy enough to dare squeeze through. In a separate section of the cave, accessed from an entrance further away from approach we found a great vertical fissure in the cavern’s rear surface. Off to each side were two more small passageways, roughly right angles to the fissure, creating a crucible formation.

Smaller connecting ‘crawl’ spaces between the larger chambers

Mythology

As far as Irish mythology is concerned, the Keshcorran caves are associated with ‘The Pusuit of Gráinne and Diarmuid,’ one of Ireland’s better-known tales from the Fianian cycle. The Fianian cycle is a series of stories and one of the four main chronicles of Irish mythology. It focuses on the deeds and adventures of ná Fianna, a legendary band of warriors, led by the fearless Fionn Mac Chumhaill. Although the group are synonymous with the Irish Provence of Leinster, some of their legends stray beyond these boundaries, as is the case in ‘The Pursuit of Grainne and Diarmuid.’

The saga begins with an aging and lonesome Fionn Mac Chumhail asking for Gráinne’s hand in marriage. Gráinne was the daughter of the Irish high king, Cormac Mac Airt (who according to legend was raised by a wolf and born in these caves), and the most beautiful woman in Ireland at the time. Given Fionn’s high status, Gráinne initially agreed but has a change of heart during the engagement ceremony when she lays eyes on one of his bravest and most loyal men, Diarmuid. A young warrior born with a ‘love spot’ on his forehead, a marking which once seen has the power to make any woman who sees it fall in love with him almost immediately.

Aware of the potential dangers his marking might cause, Diarmuid always keeps it hidden under a fringe of hair. However, Gráinne witnessed his love spot when they were younger while watching him playing a game of hurling where it was temporarily revealed, leaving her besotted by him ever since.

While everyone is busy feasting during the celebrations, Grainne empties a sleeping potion into the warriors’ brew and puts a hex on Diarmuid leaving him no choice but to abandon his comrades and elope west with her.

Later the two meet the love god Angus Og associated with Newgrange or Brú na Boinne. You can read more about him in a previous Newgrange post on this blog. Angus approves of their coupling and advises them to seek refuge in the Keshcorran caves. Up until this point the young couple had taken refugee high in great trees and behind the stones of the land, but the cave becomes their main sanctuary, the place where they spent most of their time.

The story ends in tragedy, when Diarmuid, trying to protect Gráinne is mortally wounded by a famous wild boar on the foothills of Benbulben, county Sligo. Ironically, Fionn Mac Cumhaill years earlier prophesied Diarmuid’s death at the tusks of the legendary Benbulben boar. In a further twist, Fionn and his band finally catch up with the couple, arriving on the scene shortly after Diarmuid’s goring. Although still alive and the animal slain, he doesn’t have much time left to live. Knowing Fionn possess a kind of magic where he can turn the water from any spring into a healing potion, Gráinne beseeches him to use his powers to save his former companion. Fionn repeatedly refuses until his son Oísin finally convinces him to agree. Sadly, for the couple, by the time he does it is too late as Diarmuid has already passed away.

Another mythical tale related to the Kesh caves also involves Fionn Mac Cumhaill and a band of his hunters. In this case, they run afoul of three hags, after drawing the ire of the man-God Conaran, descendant of the Thuatha De Dana, for not first asking permission to hunt on his land. According to legend, Conaran’s sends his three daughters, the hags, to capture Fionn and his men, who set a trap inside the cave and lie in wait for them. As soon as the hunting party set foot inside the witches cast enchanted bindings they have woven about the hunters which immediately sap the mens’ strength. With Fionn and his warriors weakened the hags imprison them in the cave and wait for Conaran to arrive to decide their fate. Fortunately, for Fionn and his men, his most ferocious warrior, Goll Mac Morna arrives late to the cave, and acts quickly to avoid the witches’ magical snare, decapitating all three and freeing his companions in the process.

Fionn Mac Chumaill and the Fianna, are strongly associated with the Kesh caves, as a third tale from the Fianna cycle, tells of his meeting with a Fomorian master metal smith, who presents him with a powerful sword. The Fomorians were another race of mythical people said to live in ancient Ireland, and sworn enemies of the Tuath De Danna who they engaged in war with. Some of these beings also possessed powerful magic and were often described as monstrous giants.

After the Caves

After the caves we made our way to ‘The Lodge’ in the Ox mountains, but as I touched on earlier the accommodation turned out to be part of a greater glamping set-up, not mentioned in the Airbnb ad I booked it from. Sadly, one of my brothers who needed to keep contact with the outside world for work reasons also had to leave early as the location didn’t have a phone signal, let alone WiFi, a sobering realisation if ever there was one. Something our host took pride in telling us when we discussed it with him the following day.

Our ‘Lodge’ (really a transformed Portocabin), with some of the surrounding accomodation, including a converted London bus, kind of cool in its own right

Lastly

We headed straight for Tobercurry, the nearest town, and into Foley’s to catch the nailbiter of a rugby match that was Leinster vs Northhampton. A game that didn’t end well for the warriors in blue on this occasion. The following day we managed to get to the two “Carrows’s,” Carrowmore and Carrowkeel, well at least two of us did but I’ll save that post for another day.

Keeping it 0.0 with the bros