Dun Chibhich

Nearest town:
Campbeltown (30km SE)
OS reference:
NR645500
OS sheet:
62
Latitude:
55° 41' 9.88 N
Longitude:
5° 44' 49.28 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Dun Chibhich (Hillfort) by drewbhoy

Looking down the north west wall, Mill Loch sneaking into the photo.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Aug 18, 2025

Articles

Dun Chibhich

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Jul 17, 2026

After heading west just south of Drumyeonbeg and Gigha’s golf course through fields with a few fence junps I headed north to approach the lower slopes leading to Dun Chibhich, one of Gigha’s most famous sites. Certainly one of its highest as well.

The entrance is in the south being at least 1.5m in width. Massive outer defences still exist reasonably intact along with an inner wall which still stands at 1m high and in parts is over 3m wide. Bits missed by the residents, back then, were compensated by nature – it did a good job by providing natural defence.

Just outside the entance there is a sunken area also known as the “Giant’s Grave”. It is more likely to be a ‘sunken court’ as described by Trove.

The location is stunning with views to Jura, Islay and Kintyre. Also, slightly to the north but almost impossible to reach, the crannog in Mill Loch.

In a rare outbreak of common sense towards our prehistoric sites the powers that be have scheduled the area to be 70m in diameter. The site itself covers an area 37m by 25m.

Visited 06/08/2025.

Folklore

Dun Chibhich
Hillfort
drewbhoy
drewbhoy May 28, 2025

With its strong stone walls, built partly along the edge of a 10-metre cliff, this was perhaps Gigha’s most imposing ancient fortification. It is said to have belonged to Chibhich (or Keefie), the son of a Norse king, whose story is entwined with the Irish legend of Diarmuid and Gráinne. Gráinne was daughter to the Irish king. Escaping marriage to the aging warrior, Fionn MacCool, she fled north with her lover, Diarmuid, but on Gigha she fell for Chibhich. Diarmuid fought Chibhich, killing him, and the latter is said to be buried in a grave south of the summit.

From ‘Visit Gigha‘

Folklore

Dun Chibhich
Hillfort
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Dec 19, 2007

About the middle of Gigha is Dun Chifie, or Keefie’s Hill, which appears to have been a strong fortification. Keefie was the son of the King of Lochlin, and occupied this stronghold, where (according to tradition), he was slain by Diarmid, one of Fingal’s heroes, with whose wife he had run away.

From the New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845).

Sites within 20km of Dun Chibhich