Slievenamon

"Alone, all alone, by the wave-wash'd strand,

 all alone in a crowded hall.

The hall it is gay and the waves they are grand, 

but my heart is not here at all."

Image courtesy/Wikiwand

It flies far-a-way, by night and by day, 

to the time and the joys that are gone.

And I never can forget

the sweet maiden I met,

In the valley near Slievenamon.

It was not the grace of her queenly air

Nor her check of the rose's glow.

Nor her soft black eyes, not her flowing hair

Nor was it her lily-white brow,

'Twas the soul of truth and of melting ruth,

And the smile of summer's dawn.

That stole my heart away, one mild summer day,

In the valley near Slievenamon.

In the festive hall, by the star-watched shore

My restless spirit cries:

"My love, oh my love, shall I ne'er see you no more.

And my land will you even uprise.

By night and by day I ever, ever pray,

While lonely my life flows on

To our flag unrolled and my true love enfold,

In the valley of Slievenamon.

"Slievenamon"
An Irish Folk Song

Slievenamon is a mountain located in County Tipperary, Ireland.

Steeped in folklore, Sliabh na mBan bhFionn,  "mountain of the 

fair women" is associated with the Irish folk hero Finn McCool.

 It is said that he was sought after by many young women.

 While standing atop the mountain, he declared that the
woman who won a footrace to the top would become his wife.
  Grainne, the beautiful daughter of Irish King Cormac mac Airt,
was promised to Finn McCool by her father. 

 Finn is said to have shown her a short cut to the top
of the summit so that she would win the race.

Later, however, apparently repulsed by the aging McCool,
Grainne ran away from their betrothal party with
one of his warriors named Diarmuid.


There are four prehistoric monuments on Slievenamon.
On the summit of the mountain is an ancient burial cairn,
with a natural rocky outcrop on its east side which gives
the appearance of a doorway.  The remains of a cursus,
or a trench, leads up to the cairn from the east.
On the mountain's northeastern shoulder, Sheegouna,
is another burial cairn and a ruined megalithic tomb.

According to the ancient beliefs of pre-Christian Ireland,
these cairns were thought to be portals into the Otherworld.
Anyone who dared to disturb or desecrate the cairns
would be placed under a curse.

A low hill called Carrigmaclear, which lies adjacent to Slievenamon,
was a battle site during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.