HILL OF TARA
Teamhair na Rí, Hill of the Kings
Tara, County Meath

The Hill of Tara was also known as the Hill of the Kings. It overlooks the River Boyne and has a view of the Boyne Valley, where the tomb at Newgrange is situated.

At the height of Celtic history, Ireland had five provinces: Munster, Leinster, Connaught, Ulster and Meath, which has now become part of Leinster. It was Meath that was the seat of the Árd Rí na hÉireann, High Kings of Ireland, and Tara sits at its epicenter. But this may not be entirely true according to modern research. It's theorized that Tara may have been a sacral site associated with Indo-European kingship rituals, but that the High King of Ireland may have lived elsewhere in the country. This theory is based on archaeological discoveries, one of which suggests that the site didn't have large defensive works. The earliest records attest that kings were inaugurated here. The Seanchas Mor legal

text that was written around 600AD tells how kings had to drink ale and symbolically marry the goddess Maeve to acquire the high kingship.

At the summit of the hill there is an ancient enclosure known as Ráith na Ríogh, or the Fort of the Kings, also known as the Royal Enclosure. It measures 318 x 264 meters in diameter, 1043 x 866 feet.

At the center of the enclosure are two linked enclosures, a bivallate ring fort and bivallate ring barrow known as Teach Chormaic, Cormac's House, and the Forradh or Royal Seat, which is the larger of the two enclosures. (Bivallate refers to having two ditches

surrounding a hillfort.)

A stone believed to be the Lia Fáil, Stone of Destiny, stands in the center of the Forragh, and is the site where High Kings were crowned. According to Irish legend, the Lia Fáil would scream if a series of challenges were met by the would-be king. It's said the screech could be heard all over Ireland.

On the north side of the enclosure is a small Neolithic passage tomb known as Dumha na nGiall, the Mound of the Hostages, which dates to around 2000BC.

Nearby is a long, narrow rectangular site known as the Banqueting Hall, though it's more likely to have been a ceremonial avenue. Three circular ring barrows are known as the Sloping Trenches and Gráinne's Fort.

South of the Royal Enclosure is a ring fort known as Ráith Laoghaire, Laoghaire's Fort. It's rumored that King Laoghaire was buried here in an upright position. King Laoghaire founded the coastal town of Dun Laoghaire in 498AD, which the oldest founded town in Ireland.

About one-half mile from Tara is another hill known as Rath Maeve. It's most likely associated with Maeve Lethderg who had associations with Tara. In Irish mythology, she was a goddess of sovereignty and the wife or lover of nine successive kings, including Fedlimid "the lawful" Rechtmar, Art "the one man" mac Cuinn and Cormac Mac Airt, also known as Cormac "long beard" Ulfada. It's this Cormac who's name was given to Teach Chormaic, as above.

It's been suggested that from the time of the first Celts until 1169 when Richard "Strongbow" de Clare invaded Ireland that the Hill of Tara was the island's political and spiritual capital. Though with Ireland's evolving history, recent research suggests that the complete story of the wider area around Tara remains untold.

The importance of the Hill of Tara advances with each new discovery. One such discovery was the Mount of the Hostages, which is estimated to be some 5000 years old. Similar to the tombs at Brú NA Bóinne, this was a mound with astronomical associations. It's aligned with the sunset on cross-quarter days of 8 November and 4 February, the ancient Celtic festivals of Samhain and Imbolc. The passage is shorter than the likes of Newgrange, which makes it less precise in providing alignments with the sun.

One theory that predates the Hill of Tara's splendor before Celtic times says the site was named for the capital of the Tuatha Dé Danann, pre-Celtic dwellers of Ireland. When the Celts established a seat here it became the place from which the kings of Mide, Meath, ruled Ireland. There is a lot of debate among historians about just how far the king's influence spread. It may have been as little as the middle of Ireland, or perhaps the whole of the northern half of the island. The high kingship of the whole island was only established around the time of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid, Malachy I, from the mid 9th century.

The Lia Fáil was moved to mark the graves of 400 rebels who died during the rebellion of 1798 when they were defeated by British troops on 26 May. In 1843, Daniel O'Connell, the Irish MP, hosted peaceful political negotiations in favor of a repeal of the Act of Union which drew over 750,000 people.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Hill of Tara was excavated by British Israelists who thought the Irish were part of the Lost Tribes of Israel and that the hill contained the Ark of the Covenant.

Even after all these centuries, the Hill of Tara may finally be under true threat. The National Roads Authority is, as of this writing, rerouting the N3 between Dublin City, County Cavan and County Fermanagh. This new road will pass through the Tara-Skryne Valley, as does the current N3. The current national road will become a motorway, which means an even wider thoroughfare. Protesters argue

that the Hill of Tara is just the center of a much wider complex, one that spreads for miles around the hill. The presence of this interchange situated in the valley has led to allegations that further development is planned near Tara. On Sunday 23 September 2007 over 1500 people met on the hill of Tara to take part in a human sculpture representing a harp and spelling out the words "SAVE TARA VALLEY" as a call for the rerouting of the M3 motorway away from Tara valley.

The Hill of Tara was included in the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.

~ Pay attraction
~ Parking available at the visitor's center
~ Moderately accessible

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/HillofTara