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Corleck Hill Sliabh na Trí nDée
Corleck HillLocation in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°58′21″N 6°59′51″W / 53.9726°N 6.9975°W / 53.9726; -6.9975
Country	Ireland
Province	Ulster
County	County Cavan

Corleck Hill (Irish: Sliabh na Trí nDée or Sliabh na Trí nDée Dána, meaning 'Hill of the Three Gods') is a small elongated promontory (Irish: drumlin) in the townland of Drumeague, County Cavan, Ireland. The three Irish mythological gods referenced in the Irish name are thought to be Conn, the Dagda and Ogma.

A passage grave on the hill was dismantled in the mid-19th century. The 1st century AD Celtic stone idols, today known as the Corleck Head and Corraghy Heads (collectively as the "Corleck Gods"), are thought to have been uncovered during the excavation.

Corleck later became a major site for the Lughnasadh, a pre-Christian Gaelic harvest festival which continued to be celebrated there until the early modern period.

Ancient site

Human activity on Corleck Hill dates to the Neolithic period, as evidenced by a c. 2500 BC passage grave that was dismantled in the 19th century to to make way for farming land. The hill became a significant druidic site of worship during the Iron Age, and has been described as once being "the pulse of Ireland".

From the early Christian period, it became a major site for the Lughnasadh, an ancient harvest festival celebrating the Celtic god Lugh, a warrior king and master craftsman of the Tuatha Dé Danann—one of the foundational Irish tribes in Irish mythology.

Its Irish names include Sliabh na Trí nDée (the "Hill of the Three Gods") and Sliabh na nDée Dána (the "Highland of the Three Gods of Craftsmanship"). It is one of six regions in Ulster where clusters of seemingly related stone idols have been found. Other ancient objects from the area around Corleck include the 1st century BC wooden Ralaghan Idol, a small contemporary spherical stone head from the nearby townlands of Corravilla, and the Corraghy Heads.

Until the 19th century, the hill contained a stone circle and three Neolithic passage graves, the largest of which was known locally as the "giant's grave". The monuments were excavated during the 18th and 19th centuries. The excavation uncovered a cruciform chamber, while the mound's stones were used to build a dwelling house nearby, known locally as the "Corleck Ghost House."

See also

• The Corleck Head and Corraghy Heads, Celtic stone idols found on the hill, usually dated to the 1st century AD

Footnotes

Explanatory notes

1. The son of Ler from the legend of the Children of Lir legend
2. The townland of Ralaghan is about 7 km (4.3 mi) south-east of Corleck Hill.

References

1. ^ MacKillop (2004), p. 104.
2. Kelly (2002), p. 142
3. Waddell (1998), p. 371
4. ^ Barron (1976), p. 100.
5. Ross (1998), p. 200.
6. Ross (2010), p. 111.
7. Rynne (1972), pp. 78, 80.
8. Waddell (1998), p. 360.
9. Rynne (1972), p. 84.
10. Paterson (1962), p. 82.
11. ^ Ross (2010), p. 65.
12. ^ Waddell (2023), p. 320.

Sources

• Barron, Thomas J. "Some Beehive Quernstones from Counties Cavan and Monaghan". Clogher Record, vol. 9, no. 1, 1976. JSTOR 27695733 doi:10.2307/27695733
• Kelly, Eamonn. "The Iron Age". In Ó Floinn, Raghnall; Wallace, Patrick (eds). Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities. Dublin: National Museum of Ireland, 2002. ISBN 978-0-7171-2829-7
• MacKillop, James. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-1986-0967-4
• Paterson, T.G.F. "Carved Head from Cortynan, Co. Armagh". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 92, no. 1, 1962. JSTOR 25509461
• Ross, Anne. Druids: Preachers of Immortality. Cheltenham: The History Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7524-1433-1
• Ross, Anne. The Pagan Celts. Denbighshire: John Jones, 1998. ISBN 978-1-8710-8361-3
• Rynne, Etienn. "The Three Stone Heads at Woodlands, near Raphoe, Co. Donegal". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 94, no. 2, 1964. JSTOR 25509564

v t e Places in County Cavan
County town: Cavan
Towns	Bailieborough Ballyjamesduff Belturbet Cavan Cootehill Kingscourt Mullagh Shercock Virginia
Villages	Agharaskilly Aghavoher Arvagh Ballinagh Ballyconnell Ballyhaise Ballymagauran Bawnboy Berrymount Blacklion Butlersbridge Canningstown Cavanagh Cloncollow Corleck Crossdoney Cullyleenan Derryginny Dowra Drumkilly Kilcogy Killashandra Kilnacreeva Kilnaleck Lisnahederna Milltown Mountnugent Mullaghduff Rakeelan Redhills Stradone Swanlinbar
Townlands	See: List of townlands of County Cavan
Category:Geography of County Cavan

• Towns and villages in County Cavan