Keshcorran Caves
The Keshcorran Caves (also Caves of Kesh , Irish Uaimheanna na Céise , Uaimheanna Chéis Chorainn ; German caves of Keshcorran) are located south of Sligo , about six kilometers south of Ballymote near the village of Kesh ( An Céis ), on Lough Arrow and not far from Carrowkeel in County Sligo in Ireland . The caves are located at 2/3 of the height of the 359 m high hill Keshcorran ( Céis Chorainn ). The ascent from the road over 220 m is straight and steep.
The Keshcorran is the location of 17 small caves that are the sites of numerous legends. Cormac mac Airt , a king in Ireland, was supposedly born in the westernmost cave (Umhaig Chormaic) and raised by a she-wolf. A famous myth of the Ulster cycle of Diarmuid's death while hunting a bear took place here. Diarmuid and Gráinne found refuge here from the vengeful Fionn mac Cumhaill . Keshcorran is the Síd of the otherworld ruler Conácan.
The excavations of the caves yielded important findings for paleontologists and archaeologists and yielded animal remains of cave bears (Ursus spelaeus), arctic lemmings (Lemmus), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and Irish elks (Megaloceros). The bones of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), domestic dog (Canis lupus), and mountain hare (Lepus timidus) were dated using the 14C method and were approximately 12,000 years old. Much younger were the bones of ermine (Mustela erminea) (5600 BC) and domestic horse (Equus caballus) (450 AD).
The caves were used by prehistoric people and were the place of ritual gatherings at festivals like Lughnasa until the 20th century .
There are also myths surrounding the " Morrígan Caves " (Celt. Morgane ). The crow goddess appears in the myths in many forms, whether as an old woman, as a beautiful young seductress, as a warlord, cruel and bloodthirsty, as a clairvoyant witch or as a figure changer. She is said to have lived in the caves of Kesh to prepare for her battles.
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Coordinates: 54 ° 3 ′ 30 ″ N , 8 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ W.