These legends [told of Killeen Cormac ] look like an interpretation from one more ancient concerning the hounds of Cuglos (son of Donndesa, King of Leinster), who was master of the hounds to Ederscoel, the great king of Erin. [...]
His dogs hunted a wild boar from Tara to the Hill of Urske, where they left the marks of their paws on the stones of a druidical circle crowning its summit. The same traces are to be found on some rocks at Manger, near Rathbran.
While pursuing their game up the hill over Beallach Dubhthaire, the ancient name of Baltinglass, Cuglos with his dogs, blinded by the mist and fog, chased their game into a cave on the summit of the mountain, and being there lost, his memory was perpetuated by giving his name to the scene of his untimely fate.
Description: Subcircular trivallate hilltop enclosure on a slight knoll on the lower NW spur of Baltinglass Hill with steep slopes to the W (overlooking the River Slaney) and gentler slopes to the N and E. The site is overlooked by 'Rathcoran' hillfort (WI027-026001-) c. 500m to the SE. The inner area (dims. c. 100m NW-SE; c. 75m NE-SW) is defined by an irregular stone bank, best preserved at the NE (Wth c. 4m), set along the perimeter of a largely natural scarp (H 0.5m). No indication of an entrance, external fosse or internal features. The middle rampart, composed of earth and stone (Wth c. 7m; H 1.7-2.5m) defines an area 170m NW-SE and 150m NE-SW and has an external fosse (Wth 3.5-5m; D 1m) and an outer bank (Wth 2m; H 1m), with a possible entrance (Wth 2m) at the N. The outermost rampart (Wth 6-7m; max. H 1m) (not shown on the 1907 OS 6-inch map) is also composed of earth and stone and is identifiable within the forestry on the E side and as a cropmark on the NW and S-SE sides (overall dims. c. 250m NW-SE; c. 250m NE-SW). (CUCAP, APA 45, AHK 55) (Price 1949, 143; OPW files)
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
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