Cnoc Meadha (also Cnoc Meádha Siuil
referring to its location on the plain of
Maigh Seóla
Maigh Seóla (), also known as Hy Briuin Seola, was the territory that included land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded to the east by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain and extended roughly fr ...
, and variously spelled Knockmagha, Knockma, or Knock Ma) is a hill west of
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...
,
County Galway, in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
It is said in legend to be the residence of
Finnbheara, the king of the
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...
fairies. Of two large
cairns on the hill, one was thought to be the burial-place of Finnbheara and the other of Queen
Medb, whose name may be transformed in the name Cnoc Meadha. Knockma Hill is topped with prehistoric cairns.
G. H. Kinahan wrote of the place:
In
Evans-Wentz's classic ''The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries'', his informant Mr John Glynn, the town clerk of Tuam, mentions that:
References
{{reflist
Geography of Galway (city)
Irish folklore
Mountains and hills of County Galway