Brandon Hill

[1] The South Leinster Way, a long-distance trail, meandering through the Barrow Valley and traverses Brandon Hill.

[9] This blackish siliceous schistus, sometimes containing grains of quartz and when it is broken it has a shivery texture and is hard enough to scratch glass.

[11] Evidence regarding the early settlement of the Brandon Hill uplands came to light as a result of ground and aerial surveys directed by Michael Gibbons, an archaeologist with the Board of Works, in 1989.

The survey indicated that the slopes of Brandon were settled in excess of four thousand years ago and that the cairns, house sites, field systems and a large ritual enclosure identified on its slopes are part of the prehistoric remains there.

Two Norman moated sites, with long rectangular buildings attached - probably granges or farms attached to Duiske Abbey and thought to be about 600 years old - were also identified on the lower slopes in the Ballyogan townland area during the survey.

Brandon Hill from the River Barrow in Graiguenamanagh