Archaelogy you can visit. Seefin Some Passage Tombs on Mountain Summits by Tom Barragry Seefin The megalithic passage tomb of Seefin is situated on the summit of a 622 m high mountain in North Wicklow. Nearby on the other summits - Seahan and Seefingan - and in clear view, are other cairns covering similar types of passage tombs. Seefin in fact is one of the four hills in the so called ‘Circuit of Kilbride’, taking in Seahan (648m), Corrig (618m), Seefingan (724m) and Seefin (622m). Corrig can be described as the poor relation of all of these summits as it is the only one without a passage tomb but it does command wonderful views over to Seefingan and Seefin and great views down over to Glenasmole. Glenasmole to the east, was a favourite hunting ground of the Fianna and Fionn McCumhaill’s Stone in Glenasmole was said to have been carried down from Corrig by Fionn himself. Kilbride Rifle Range is an Army range on the Dublin/Wicklow border and it is nestled in a valley surrounded by Seefin, Seahan, Corrig and Seefingan. It has been claimed that on a clear day Newgrange can be seen from Seefin and that Seefin was deliberately built to be seen from Newgrange. Seefin is approximately halfway between the Sally Gap and Manor Kilbride.The military rifle range at Kilbride lies to the north and care needs to be taken in reaching. MountainViews.ie shows various safe ways. In Gaelic Mythology Seefin or Sui Fionn, according to Gaelic mythology and Celtic legends, was the seat of Finn McCool (Fionn mac Cumhail) while Seefingin ( Sui Finnin) was the seat of his son Oisin. Fionn or Finn was the leading Irish warrior of Na Fianna who were his followers and who were the leading Gaelic tribe. The Fianna, led by Fionn, were known in all the early Irish mythological stories as great athletes, hunters, and especially, fighters. They were men living in the wilderness, outside the bounds of normal society, in close contact with the natural world, and by extension, with the spirit world. In 1858 the revolutionary Irish independence group known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) took on the name of “Fenians” a name derived from Fionn’s army Many legends surround the life of Fionn. It is said that he attempted his own matchmaking by inviting large numbers of women to partake in a race up to the summit of Slieve na Mban in Tippreary, where he awaited the winner. Allegedly Grainne was first up the mountain of Slieve na Mban, but because Fionn was much older than her, she eloped with his better looking, younger warrior Diarmaid. It is also said that Fionn built the Giant's Causeway as stepping stones to Ireland, and that the Isle of Man is a lump of Irish land which he hurled at an enemy !. As members of na Fianna, Fionn and his son Oisin roamed these hills around Seefin,until Oisin went with Niamh Cinn Oir over the sea to Tir na Nog. Oisin returned years later to Gleann na Smole. (It is thought that Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde story has its roots in this legend of Diarmuid agus Grainne althugh there are many other early European versions on the same theme). The Passage Grave on Seefin Approaching the summit of Seefin from the southerly direction, the huge cairn of large stones is readily visible and impressive to behold, but as one circles around it to the northside, the entrance pillars and lintel come into view showing the narrow passage entrance. Seefin passage tomb is well preserved and is most impressive sitting on the high summit with a magnificent view, as far as the eye can see, of the low lying countryside below it.. Seefin megalithic tomb dates back to 3000- 5000 years BC and was only first investigated by RA McAllister in 1931. When he investigated it he recorded that he found no human remains there, neither artifacts nor other items of interest within the chamber. Accordingly it has always been speculated as to whether some early human remains had actually been removed from the tomb hundreds if not thousands of years ago, or whether the tomb is some kind of mysterious empty spectacular symbolic marker at the summit of a splendid panorama. It is certainly a very elaborate and precisely constructed tomb and it is indeed hard to believe that no one was ever buried there. So did Mc Alister miss something, had remains been removed hundreds of years earlier or was no one ever buried there? It seems more likely that it was a burial tomb ..... it had after all remained open for thousands of years and thus the remains of deceased persons could easily have be removed, or perhaps some artifacts stolen over that long time span.. One of the early roof stones had an etching of a Greek equal-armed cross cross and this would seem to corroborate the supposition that it was a burial place. Many such mysterious tombs on mountain summits exist all over Ireland, many in very close proximity to each other. They all seem to maintain some sort of geographical alignment, if not with each other, then more probably with astronomical events such as the solstice and equinox. Many of these passage tombs from Newgrange, Knowth Dowth, Seefin Seefingin, Seahan Fairy Castle, Slieve Gullion etc remain as enigmatic reminders of the rituals and practices in stone age Ireland - many of which we may never come to fully understand in true, authentic and accurate detail.. While the pyramids of Giza were built as spectacular tombs for kings and pharoahs, it would seem that the Irish passage tombs were more for some sort of communal activity. It would also seem that given the small space inside and the narrow entrance passage only a few people could enter to perform the final rituals, with most of the people remaining outside. Given that Seefin is 1700 feet above sea level it was an astounding feat of labour and of engineering to carry the heavy materials up to the summit and construct with considerable precision such an elaborate edifice, some 3000 or even 5000 years ago. And an edifice that has survived over 3000 years without collapsing!. Perhaps the materials were not carried up insofar as there may have been an abundant supply of stone on the tops of these hills anyway. So why was it built and what purpose did it serve? One theory was that by placing the remains of one’s ancestors in these high cairns, immediate ownership was conferred on their descendants, of all the land that their deceased ancestors could see from their resting place on the summit. Seefin tomb entrance. A test for modern man of slimness. The entrance to the tomb itself is narrow with two large columnar side stones supporting a lintel. There are two stones at the entrance allegedly displaying some very faint concentric megalithic decoration, but it is extremely hard to see it now. The entrance consists of a very narrow 7 metres long passage way with large side slabs that runs inwards into 5 smaller cellular compartments. The largest central chamber (burial chamber?) has two small side chambers on each side and one situated at the rear. Overall, the covering stony cairn of the passage tomb is 24 metres in diameter and a little over 3 metres high.There are a number of kerbstones around the base defining the outer periphery. From a small collapsed part of the roof one an get a small narrow peep into the passageway. At the summit there is a wonderful 360 degree vista showing the whole of south county Dublin, Kildare and a vast expanse of Wicklow. Seefingan Nearby Seefingan is the twin peak that is also crowned by a cairn of stones similar to Seefin. But while a little less dramatic, Seefingan is yet unexcavated. It lies a litle higher than Seefin by about 100m above sea level. Looking down from either of these summits the panorama is truly breathtaking with an uninterrupted view of the beautiful rolling hills, fields and a few lakes into the far distance. The surrounding countryside encompasses North & West Wicklow, South Dublin, and the passage tombs well visible on the distant summits. Of course care must be taken in this area as it lies adjacent to an active army firing range at Kilbride. This is a danger zone which is marked by red flags on active days. The views from Seefin are as good as you get. It's just stunning to look down upon the Poulaphuca Reservoir 450m below or across to Seefingan (and its passage tomb) Seahan Hill (County Dublin) and its passage tomb (Seefin passage is facing directly at this one) or over to Sorrel Hill & Lugnagun (County Wicklow). Fairy Castle Not too far away on the Dublin Mountains lies Fairy Castle. This stone cairn is a collapsed passage tomb. It sits at an altitude of 1,740 feet (536m) beside a trig pillar on Two Rock Mountain and is a major high landmark well visible from most parts of south county Dublin. The mountain takes its name from the two granite tors that lie to the south-east of the summit. The tomb is marked by the large collection of rocks forming a type of pyramid. The tomb underneath is believed to have had a height of about 3 metres and some of the original circle of stones are thought to still be in position. It dates to the Bronze Age between c.2500 bce and 2000 bce and is one of the highest, largest and easternmost in a series of such tombs that stretch across the Wicklow & Dublin Mountains.