Vaginal rebirth at its finest. I never thought I'd get to the top of the 625m high Seefin Hill, as the cloud engulfed me for the last 100m (vertical) I was beginning to contemplate returning to my car and going home. Nevertheless I continued and I am so glad I did. The last part of the climb is through rough terrain, a peat bog littered with huge granite boulders. There is no shortage of building material here. The floor is also strewn with quartz, this is why they built here. Finally I made it to the top and as I did the wind just blew enough to reveal the cairn through the mist. I was awe struck.
My approach brought me up on the rear, so I skirted the kerb stones looking for the entrance. Even though I had seen pictures of the entrance nothing could have prepared me for this. The cairn stones have been stripped away to reveal the labia like door pillars and clitoral lintel. Climbing over the entrance stone and peering down the narrow passage you can see that the inner chamber has been breached from above, allowing light to spill in. Unfortunately, most of the fantastic corbelled roof lies on the floor to the chamber. Two small anti-chambers are still visible, if there is a third, fourth and fifth they are now buried. I could find no trace of the carved orthostat described on other web sites. None of the kerb stones are decorated either. The stones that make up the corbelled roof appear to be mainly huge slabs of quartz.
Littered amongst the cairn stones are many pieces of quartz, hardly surprising when there is such an abundance on the hill side below. I can't help imagining that the whole cairn was once covered in quartz to produce a stunning white mound that would have glittered in the sun and been visible for miles. As I left the tomb I noticed that the passage orthostats were once covered in a thin layer of quartz, again signifying the power that the "Sun Stone" had to these people. The passage is aligned due north.
The feeling of rebirth when exiting is overwhelming. Leaving the womb like chamber, moving along the vaginal passage and squeezing between the huge 'labial' door stones the clouds cleared allowing the sun to break through and all my tiredness from the long climb seemed to be lifted from me, a feeling which made the descent very pleasurable. This place is a must to see and experience. You will definitely leave with more than you went. (Part of this in my case was a plastic Evian bottle that someone had left in the passage!! When will these people learn?)
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_So, back at last. This re-visit has been on the cards for ages and I can't believe that it's been over 2 years since I was here last. Would it still have the same effect upon me?
As I climbed up I could feel myself getting anxious. I wanted so much to get there again. I wanted so much not to be carrying 20kg of camera equipment up a 621m high mountain! The way the tomb is situated you really can not see it all the way up. It is not until you reach the summit that you can see it. At this point I filled with a burst of energy and trotted over (not that much energy) to the tomb, saying hello to a couple having lunch on the kerb on the south side.
As soon as I saw the narrow, welcoming entrance I was filled with joy and soon the passage was filled with me as I clambered inside. One of the reasons I have been wanting to get back here was to find the rock art inside the passage. I managed to locate one of the carved orthostats, the third on the right as you enter (I think), which has some concentric lozenges near its base.
After my initial plunge inside I wandered around the outside taking in the tremendous views, always looking back at the cairn to make sure it hadn't gone anywhere. At one point I was forced back inside by a sudden hail storm, which was fine by me.
One of the side chambers may have been cleaned out a little bit. It certainly looked a bit more empty than I remembered it. It is such a shame that this one can not be rebuilt and put back how it once was. It is one of the few north facing passage tombs and, I think, the only one with 5 chambers in a cross of Lorraine configuration.
The views are as good as you get. It's amazing to look down upon the Pullaphuca Reservoir 450m below or across to Seahan Hill (County Dublin) and its passage tomb (the passage of this one points directly at Seahan) or up towards Seafingan or over to Lugnagun (County Wicklow) where I was last week.
Did it still have the same effect upon me? Oh yes!!!
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_| Andy from Dublin |  |
| dara from dublin/kildare borderlands | |
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_Follow the N81 from Dublin and turn left to Kilbride on the R759 and follow the signs to Sally Gap. Turn left at the next cross roads and then take the first right and drive to the t-junction by a bridge. Park Here. Walk along the road to the right and then decide where you want to start walking up the hill. Just keep walking up!
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Carrowkeel - Cairn L (Co. Sligo) |  Slievethoul (Co. Dublin) |  Seahan I (Co. Dublin) |
 Matthewstown (Co. Waterford) |  Cairn L (Co. Meath) |  Sess Kilgreen (Co. Tyrone) |
