We climbed this hill after Bricklieve Mtn. It's a short drive (turn left from Bricklieve on entry road from N4 and take right turn at 2 T junctions) to find yourself at 723 122 A. There is a new gravel road going uphill to the East of this road not marked on my map which we followed to a water scheme pump house. There is room to park here if gate is open as it was for us. We headed up a small path South from here to meet a wall running East/West. Follow this West crossing a wall running roughly North. At the 2nd wall running North turn right to follow this wall up a short steep valley which flattens out with the wall on a small escarpment on your left. Follow a rough path which eventually turns left and crosses over the wall. The path roughly follows the wall on the other side and we had the wonderful experience of the large mound with Kesh Corran cairn on top looming out of the mists on our left to announce our arrival at the top. Sadly no views for us but I think they would be great on a clear day. Again another hill suitable for kids as long as you try to follow the rough pathways and not stray in to deep heather and undergrowth. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/887/comment/4066/

The name Keshcorran most likely means the Harp of Corran. In ancient Ireland ‘ceis’ was a harp-fastener. Corran was a Harper for the Tuatha de Danann. Legend says a woman named Deirdre was transformed into a sow after eating enchanted acorns. She went on a rampage causing death and destruction. It was Corran the Harper who lulled the sow to sleep with his beautiful harping. The sow was then killed and its body turned into the hill we call Keshcorran today.

There are 17 caves in a stretch of limestone cliffs on the west side of the hill. These are the Caves of Kesh and can be reached from the road at G70332 12232 B where there is room for three cars. The walk up to the caves will take 15 minutes. Reasonable care is needed on the steep grassy slope, although a path for most of the walk helps greatly. The caves have a great location half way up the hill at the base of a cliff. Dripping roofs and some mucky underfoot conditions prevail! The largest cave is known as Cormac’s Cave. Cormac Mac Art was born on the mountain, and then snatched by a she-wolf who raised him in the caves. He later emerged to become Ireland’s mightiest High King. Due to this association with Cormac the hill is also known as King’s Mountain. Some believe that Cormac’s soldiers are still asleep inside Keshcorran waiting to reemerge when Ireland needs them.

The caves are said to be connected to Oweynagat, or Hellmouth Cave, many miles away. In 1779 a draughtsman related the following tale about one of the caves: "The cave is said to communicate with that in the county of Roscommon, twenty-four miles in distance, called the Hellmouth door of Ireland.. it is told (and believed in both counties) that a woman in the county of Roscommon having an unruly calf could never get him home unless driving him by holding him by the tail; that one day he tried to escape and dragged the woman, against her will into the Hellmouth door; unable to stop him she ran after him without quitting her hold, and continued running until next morning. She came out at Kishcorren, to her own amazement and that of the neighbouring people." From the Diary of GABRIEL BERANGER, 1779

Excavations have revealed remains of arctic lemming, wolf, bear and elk. Few human remains have been found, leading some to believe that the caves were held in either great fear or as sacred places. Among the scarce human remains there were a number of human teeth radiocarbon dated to the early Iron Age (200 BCE – 30 CE).

I reached the summit by heading left (NW) from the caves until a fence. I hand railed this steeply uphill. The ground was short grass, followed by energy sapping heather. There is a large cairn where Fionn Mac Cumhal used to sit and follow the progress of his hunts. The views are fabulous, including Croagh Patrick & Ben Bulben. This is a dramatic hill with a lot to offer those with the time to explore and the imagination to visualise the past. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/887/comment/17930/

There is a track running most of the way to the summit on the South East side of this hill which would possibly make for easy going. However the allure of the caves on the West side of the hill, makes tackling it from this side a must. Parking in the car park at G70862 11348 D head North West along the road for about a kilometer. At G70352 12203 E leave the road and follow the waymarked trail to the caves. These are about half way up the hill. On a better day, hours could be spent exploring them.......with a torch. After the caves retrace your steps to move away from the cliff face. About 200 meters from the caves the steep ground becomes climbable. There are the ruins of a wall that can be followed to a transmitter near the summit. From here head east following a wall/fence combination until you see the large cairn at the summit. As the hill was cover in cloud I cannot comment on the views but a visit for the caves alone is worth it. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/887/comment/20119/