Bird Hill is named after a natural rock formation in the shape of an eagle near the summit. It can be clearly seen from the road below. From the same viewing point can be seen the Comhla Bhreac (speckled door) known in English as the yellow castle. It is a slightly yellow rock formation half way up the rock face. Legend has it that when an O’Sullivan Beara dies the door of the yellow castle (dún buí) opens and slams three times to admit him to the underworld.
On 31 December 1602, after the fall of Dunboy, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare gathered his people and set off northwards on a 500-kilometre march with about 1,000 of his remaining people. Local legend is that they visited the Comhla Bhreac on their way north. On their arrival at Brian Óg Ó Ruairc’s castle in Breifne on 14 January 1603 only 35 of the original 1,000 remained. After the treaty of Mellifont, O'Sullivan Beare escaped to Spain. In 1618, he was murdered by John Bathe as he left Mass in the Plaza de Santo Domingo in Madrid. “The Last Prince of Ireland” by Morgan Llywelyn gives an account of his life.
The book mentioned by Barrington in “Discovering Kerry” is “Cois na Ruachtaighe”, a collection of 44 poems written by four members of Clann tSúilleabháin Chaoil. It was edited by R. Ó Foghludha in 1938. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/772/comment/23584/