Overview
Sixteen dark cave mouths run in a line across the white limestone face of Keshcorran Hill – locally, Keash Hill – in the Bricklieve Mountains of south County Sligo. The walk up to them is the appeal and the catch: it’s short, roughly 1.3 km there and back, but properly steep, about twenty minutes of climbing from the car park. The caves are labelled A to P and all face west, so they catch the afternoon light. Above them the hill, at 360 m, carries a dense prehistoric landscape of hut sites, tombs and an unopened Neolithic cairn known as the Pinnacle on the summit. If you go on one kind of day, make it a clear afternoon – the low western sun is what makes the place.
The walk and the caves
The trail begins at the Keash Hall car park, through a kissing gate and up a foot-worn path across grassland, waymarked with red arrows on black discs. It climbs to the first and largest opening, Cave A, and from there you can pick between named chambers, each with its own character:
- Coffey Cave (Cave J) – the most accessible entrance and a natural starting point, named after an early excavator.
- Hermit’s Bedroom (Cave E) – a narrow recess used by a 19th-century hermit.
- Cave K – noted for its wide mouth, which frames an open view of the countryside.
- Cormac’s Cave – the largest chamber, linked by legend to High King Cormac mac Airt. On clear days, Croagh Patrick and Nephin show on the western horizon from its entrance.
- Water Gallery – a twisting passage that keeps a damp, river-like feel even in summer.
- Pollagcaddy (“The Thieves’ Hole”) – full of limestone “cauliflower” formations, likely shaped when the chamber was part of a former quarry.
- Teacher’s Cave – used as a hedge school during the Penal era.
- Plunkett Cave (Cave P) – named after Thomas Plunkett, one of the early excavators.
- Deeper chambers – several caves are sealed with metal grilles for safety, but their entrances are clear from the trail.
Because the caves all face west, the spring and autumn equinoxes (around 20 March and 22 September) line the setting sun up with the openings and flood them with light for a couple of hours – the best-known time to be here, though any clear afternoon from March to September does the job. Most counts put the number of caves at sixteen; a few sources say seventeen.
Beyond the caves, the path climbs to the steep brow of Keash Hill, where the view stretches across the rolling farmland of the Bricklieve range, with the Dartry Mountains to the east. Although the Pinnacle cairn is closed to the public, its silhouette dominates the skyline from several outlooks along the route. Information panels near the trailhead summarise the prehistoric finds.
History and mythology
The Caves of Keash are far more than a scenic walk; they are a layered archaeological site with over twelve millennia of recorded use. The caves formed in Carboniferous limestone through weathering that carved vertical shafts perpendicular to the cliff face. Glacial boulder beds at several entrances mark the reach of the last ice age, roughly 13,000 years ago. Inside, quartz crystals are common, and some chambers have low stalagmite floors now marked by fox and badger burrows.
Excavations beginning in 1901 by Robert Francis Scharff, R. J. Ussher and Robert Lloyd Praeger – and continued later by Tatjana Kytmannow – uncovered a rich sequence of deposits showing continuous human activity spanning more than 12,000 years. Ice-Age fauna, including brown bear, Arctic lemming, Irish elk, grey wolf and red deer, have been dated to around 10,000 BC. Later layers run into the Bronze Age: a bear bone from c. 6,000 BC, a Bronze Age spearhead, a horse bone from c. 400 BC. Human remains span from the Neolithic to the early medieval period, alongside bone needles, a polished stone axe, bronze pins and Viking-style bone combs. Human teeth from the Iron Age to the early medieval period point to ritual deposition, likely tied to seasonal gatherings.
Archaeologists think the site’s use shifted over time. In the Neolithic the caves may have served excarnation rituals linked to the passage-tomb cairn on the summit. Iron-Age layers hold clusters of animal and human teeth, suggesting votive offerings tied to Lughnasa celebrations for the god Lugh. Early medieval strata hold a hearth, Scandinavian-style comb fragments, and a crossbow bolt beside a tibia, hinting at temporary habitation and possibly a violent end.
The caves are equally steeped in myth. The Dindshenchas tells of Deirdre-the-sow and the harper Corann, whose music calmed a monstrous sow that became the hill. The Cath Maige Mucrama records that the future High King Cormac mac Airt was born at a well at the foot of Keshcorran and raised by a she-wolf in the cave that now bears his name. Medieval tradition also links the caves to the forge of Lon Mac Líomhtha, blacksmith to the Tuatha Dé Danann – Fionn mac Cumhaill supposedly ventured into the darkness searching for it, only to be trapped by three winter hags until Goll mac Morna freed the Fianna. An 18th-century diary even likens the cavern to the “Hellmouth” of Rathcroghan. These stories cement the caves’ reputation as portals to the Otherworld.
Practical information
- Distance and difficulty: About 1.3 km round trip, roughly 650 m each way – short but steep, around twenty minutes up, with a total ascent near 88 m. The grass and rock turn slippery in the wet, so wear proper footwear.
- Waymarking: Red arrows on black discs; a kissing gate marks the off-road section.
- Access and parking: The trailhead is at Keash, signposted from the R295 (Ballymote → Boyle) – turn before the Eastern Harps GAA pitch. The car park by St Kevin’s Church holds about ten cars, with limited roadside space nearby; it fills at weekends, so come early. There are no facilities on the hill.
- Restrictions: No dogs – the trail crosses working farmland with livestock.
- Safety: The cliff face above the caves sheds rock; heed the warning signs and don’t stand under the overhangs. The upper slopes are exposed and slippery after rain.
- Closures: The hill closes for lambing, usually from the third week of March for four to five weeks, reopening in late April. Check before you travel in spring.
Getting there
Keash lies about 12 km north-west of Ballymote and 20 km south of Sligo town, most easily reached via the R295. Public transport is thin – the nearest Bus Éireann stop is in Ballymote, from where a local taxi can finish the drive. Parking at the trailhead is free. Arrive early to dodge the midday sun on the exposed limestone, and check the forecast, as the wind sweeps hard across the top.
Nearby attractions
- Benbulben – the flat-topped mountain north of Sligo, with walking routes along its escarpments.
- Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery – one of Ireland’s largest prehistoric burial sites, a short drive north.
- Bricklieve Mountains – the broader limestone range that Keash Hill sits in.
- Ballysadare River – for a riverside walk and salmon fishing.
Bring a fully charged phone for navigation, as the signal drops in the limestone hollows near the trailhead.