Inauguration site in Lyons

According to Killanin and Duignan (1967, 160), ' … Lyons Hill (is) one of the early royal seats and public assembly places of the kingdom of Leinster, and later chief seat of the Mac Giolla Mo-Cholmógs of Uí Dúnlainge. … It is also one of the places claimed as the scene of Daniel O'Connell's celebrated duel with D'Esterre (1815)' . On a hilltop (OD 651 feet) in former demesne land with panoramic views in all directions, especially S-W-NE. A very poorly preserved oval area (ext. diams. 63m E-W; 55m N-S) is defined by a low scarp (H0.3-0.9m) which is retained by thin, flaggy, facing-stones which are visible in a short arc (L 3m) at W, and intermittently at NW where grazing has denuded the sod cover, and by a very broad and shallow outer fosse (Wth 12m; D 0.9m) ENE-E-ESE which separates the monument from a natural spur immediately to the E. At the centre of the monument, a low, poorly preserved, circular cairn (diam. 10m; H 1.5m) carries a concrete OS Trigonometrical Station. (CUCAP ATC 45: 1967) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

This site is associated with early Irish kingship traditions, serving as a royal inauguration place for the kings of Leinster and later the Mac Giolla Mo-Cholmógs of Uí Dúnlainge. Such sites were often considered sacred, with rituals linking the ruler to divine or ancestral authority.