Ah, childhood memories... (despite being a national monument, the Hill of Uisneach was where farming realations of mine used to graze their cattle.) When I was a kid, long before I knew anything about history, I remember standing on the summit, absolutely gobsmacked by the view. On a clear day you can see landmarks in twenty counties, and many of the locals will claim to have seen the gleaming white Round Tower over O’Connell’s grave in Dublin’s Glasnevin cemetary. This is a nice link to the past as one of O’Connell’s monster meetings for Catholic Emancipation was held at Uisneach (the remnants of an iron flagstaff are still embedded in the catstone).
The idea that the souterrains represent in plan form the stallions of the dagda, I’m inclined to take with a pinch of salt as one of Michael Dame’s more dubious ideas.
For fellow holy well afficionado’s, St. Bridget’s well at nearby Killare Village is a perfect, barely christianised remnant of the sacred landscape.