Climbed both hills on 16/12/17, following the main route described by others here on MV.

The forestry between the tops has thinned out a little (or so it seems by reference to previous comments) and further inroads are being made into the forestry with machinery that make the route much more obvious.

When researching this hill before my visit I found myself confused as to the pronunciation (Spinnian's?, Spynan's?) and was enlightened by, well, you guessed it, google.

Apparently in the early 1800s there was an English geologist named Thomas Weaver charged with doing a little research into the geology of Wicklow. He seems to have spent quite some time traversing the range and commenting on the geology of many lesser known hills.

His publication described the hills of Spynan's (Spinan's), Brisselstown (Spinan's SE), Kilranela (Cloghnagaune), Tinoran, and others in the Baltinglass area.

On this hill, "Brisselstown" as he spelled it, he noted that "Craggy protuberances stud the upper part and form the summit of this hill which is encircled by three concentric mounds, [...], which with the crags above display a kind of mural crown, perceptible at a great distance. The object of these enclosures is not at present known, [...], and the craggy summit may have served as an altar."

I certainly found the summit more interesting than the main top to the west, which is flatter with a number of shallow bog pools.

The same publication, Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Volume 5 (1821?), measured the hill at 1330 feet, which seems fairly close! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/841/comment/19812/