When people think of sacred hill they (quite rightly) think of Knocknarea (County Sligo), but Knocknashee needs to be placed in its true position as another fine example. Its profile and size is very simlar to Knocknarea, but Knocknashee is land-locked in a vast fertile plane.
Driving around the area to the east of the Ox Mountains its magnificent form is impossible to ignore. Standing at the many tombs in the area Knocknashee dominates the skyline. Oddly though the tombs only occur to the west of the hill, but when visiting them all becomes clear for they are located at points where both Knocknarea and Knocknashee can be seen.
Throughout the latter part of this trip I was constantly in the shadow of this beautiful hill, but when it came to climbing it to visit the passage tomb I just didn't have the energy. It really is massive and the very steep sides make it more difficult to climb than Knocknarea. I will be back and I will climb it, but I will make it the first thing I do on the trip. The views from up there must be stunning!
In the late 1980s a hill fort was identified encircling the upper plateau. Could this actually have been a much older earthwork with massive ritual significance?
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A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Knocknarea (Co. Sligo) |  Sheemore (Co. Leitrim) |  The Paps of Anu (Co. Kerry) |
