| Alluring Leinster - Climb into the
heart of Irish history
 MALCOLM ROGERS repays a visit to the centre of Royal Meath, the
ancient Hill of Tara — an important site in the country’s history.
Tara is now in the province of Leinster, although it once had its own
province, Midhe, the setting for much that is heroic and grand in Irish
folklore.
Within ancient Midhe, at the ‘centre of the centre’, so to speak, stood
Tara. The name comes from the Irish ‘Teamhair’ (Old Irish ‘Temair’)
meaning, variously, a lofty height and the meeting place of darkness and
light. Ghosts often walked the Hill of Tara and here, at the ancient
seat of Ireland’s kings, heroes lived and died.
A fitting place, then, for Grainne to ditch her lover Finn in favour of
Diarmuid, thus starting a famous chase throughout the length and breadth
of Ireland. That was how you did it in the days before agony aunts an
Oprah Winfrey.
High on a hilltop, with views spanning seven counties on a clear day,
you can close your eyes and imagine heroes conducting epic love affairs,
picture warriors on determined horses spurring up the hillside, or hear
the crowds gather in excited ranks. They would have been there to hear a
foreigner, chap by the name of Patrick, ask King Laoghaire if he could
speak to the people about something called the Gospel. According to
legend the King agreed, but only after Patrick managed to defeat the
local druids in a contest of magic.
Although the site is now a peaceful, grass-covered haven of
tranquillity, and though the legends may be slightly more fantasy than
fact, there can be no doubt that for more than 2,000 years Tara was a
place of paramount religious, and later political, importance. This was
unquestionably the heart of the Celtic nation.
Tara is situated about six miles east of Navan on a hill some 512 feet
in height. Although comparatively low, the hill offers good views across
the midlands and eastern Ireland.
On a clear day you can see a large part of Leinster, the Slieve Aughty
Mountains (Munster), away in the westerly distance Slieve Bawn
(Connacht) and to the north, the drumlins of Ulster. It’s fitting that
all four provinces should be in view, because it was here that the great
assemblies of the five Irish provinces (including Mide) took place at
Samhain, or what we now call Halloween, the festival being marked by
horse races, fairs, markets, pastoral assembly rites, political
discussions and ritual mourning for the passage of summer.
A myth is as good as a mile
Now there’s one thing that has to be mentioned here before we go any
further. The Hill of Tara isn’t exactly spectacular — this is no Mont
Blanc. And although it’s where the ancient kings of Ireland were
crowned, there’s very little evidence of that left. An American lady
summed it up for me as I overheard her saying to Jimbo, her husband:
“Gee, honey, I preferred Buckingham Palace.”
What Tara does have, and what Jimbo and Trixie-Lou missed, is rural
serenity, a 2,000-year history and an atmosphere as far removed from
leprechauns and paddywhackeray as a Van Morrison CD. Tara reached its
greatest importance during the first centuries AD when it was the seat
of the High Kings of Ireland. After the introduction of Christianity it
gradually declined in power but was not finally abandoned until 1022.
The oldest visible monument is the passage tomb of Dumha nGiall (Mound
of the Hostages), dating from the third millennium BC, although there
are some 25 ring ditches — probably some sort of fortifications — in
evidence.
In the graveyard of the Church of St Patrick which adjoins the easterly
part of the hill there are two standing stones. One is a low block of
limestone with a rounded top. The other — Adamman’s Stones — has a small
human figure carved on it. This is possibly a female fertility figure, a
sheela-na-gig, or it may be Cernunnos, the Celtic horned god.
Sorted for the solstice
An excellent time for a Tara trip is midsummer’s day, or the summer
solstice, when the sun begins its slow farewell towards the darkness of
winter. It’s also the day when Ireland’s hippies, druids, and assorted
bohemians arrive for their annual shindig. Last year I watched a band of
ardent Christians fervently praying for the souls of the pagans around
them. The believers would then have headed directly from Tara to the
Hill of Slane in the Boyne Valley, I would imagine. Because it was here
in AD 423 where St Patrick is said to have kindled the first Paschal
Fire in Ireland to celebrate the triumph of Christianity over paganism.
Truly, this is an area with some depth to its culture. The Hill of Tara,
seat of the ancient high kings of Ireland, is one of Europe’s most
significant archaeological and historical landmarks. It was to Tara that
St. Patrick came in his quest to bring Christianity to the Celtic druids
who presided there, just as in more modern times it was Tara where, in
1843, Daniel O’Connell held his “monster meeting”of half a million
people demanding independence from Britain.
His words still resonate today: “We are standing up on Tara of the
Kings, the spot where the monarchs of Ireland were elected and where the
chieftains of Ireland bound themselves by the solemn pledge of honour to
protect their native land against every stranger.”
Tara’s story is Ireland’s story. Tara touches the very soul of Ireland.
And yet, within just a kilometre of this revered place, work will soon
begin on a motorway. Go there soon if you want to see it in peace — and
hurry.
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