Seefingan often spelt Seafingan ( meaning ''Fingan's Seat'') is a mountain that straddles two county boundaries from its summit in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

eastwards down into

South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...

, in Ireland. There are extensive views from the summit and there is a large megalithic

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

nearby.

Geography

At Seefingan is the 11th highest summit in the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

, the second highest point in South Dublin after

Kippure Kippure (; ) at , is the 56th-highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 72nd-highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September ...

and the 92nd highest summit in Ireland. It stands at the junction of three ridges, Corrig to the north, Seefin to the southwest and Kippure to the east, and straddles the border between

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

and

. The headwaters of the River Dodder lie on the eastern slopes of Seefingan, Kippure and Seecawn. The summit is a smooth grassy area but the three ridges are boggy, and particularly difficult to negotiate after rain. There are footpaths but they can be difficult to follow through the boggy parts; a Seefin – Seefingan – Kippure circuit is one possible route. There is not a cairn on the summit, but there is a notice warning walkers of Kilbride Camp and the nearby military firing range. There are extensive views to the mountains of western Wicklow, Mullaghcleevaun and Poulaphouca Reservoir, the prominent communication masts on the top of Kippure and across the city of Dublin towards

Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...

. A few hundred yards west of the summit lies a large

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

cairn, which probably marks the site of a collapsed

passage tomb Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * Passage (2008 film), ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * Passage (2009 film), ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ...

. There is also a trig point here.

Archaeology

William Domville Handcock describes the top of Seefingan (or ''"See Finnan"'') in his ''The History and Antiquities of Tallaght in the County of Dublin'' from 1877:

Following the crest of the hill for about a mile or so, we arrive at See Finnan, a mountain considerably higher than Seeghane, and quite covered with bog and heath. There is a very large and perfect cairn on the top of it, which, like that at Seeghane, does not appear to have been opened. It may contain a chamber, like that on Seefin, which is about a mile further on, and is the loftiest hill of the three.

References

Sources

* * {{coord, 53, 11, 31, N, 6, 22, 30, W, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Mountains and hills of County Wicklow Hewitts of Ireland Mountains and hills of South Dublin (county) Mountains under 1000 metres

Geography

Archaeology

See also

References

Sources