The things that Betty taught us

The saturday after Rag week we had a Saint Mary's trip to New Grange and The Hill of Tara. Newgrange is one of the passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. Originally built between c.3300-2900 BC, Newgrange is more than 500 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, and predates Stonehenge trilithons by about 1,000 years. The Newgrange mound is 250ft across and 40ft high, and covers an entire acre. The burial chamber has a corbelled roof which rises steeply upwards to a height of nearly 20 ft. A tribute to its builders, the roof has remained essentially intact and waterproof for over 5,000 years. It was actually really cool to see when you think about how old it is. And there was a great view of the Irish countryside from the top of the hill where it was built. Newgrange was built in such a way that at dawn on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight for a very short time illuminates the floor of the chamber at the end of the long passageway. The sunlight comes in through the window box above the door, shown here. They recreated the light for us, but apparently it's MUCH cooler when it's actually on the winter solstice. But since Ireland's weather is so unpredictable, even those who win the drawing and are able to be in the tomb during the winter solstice don't have a sure chance of seeing the illumination.

We also stopped briefly at the site of the Battle of the Boyne. The Battle of the Boyne was a turning point in the Williamite claim on the English throne. The deposed King James VII of Scotland and James II of England and Ireland and his Jacobite supporters were defeated by James' nephew and son-in-law, William III and his supporters. The battle took place on July 1, 1690 just outside the town of Drogheda on Ireland's east coast. Each army stood on opposing sides of the River Boyne. The symbolic importance of this battle has made it one of the best-known battles in British and Irish history and a key part in Irish Protestant folklore. The place we stopped was essentially just a big field, so it took a lot of imagination to appreciate it. But our tour guide Deborah was a B.A. and showed us some neat weapons that they used in the battle.

Next we stopped at Mellifont Abbey. Mellifont Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland. William of Orange used Mellifont Abbey House as his headquarters during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Mellifont Abbey is now a ruin. Little of the original Abbey remains, save some Romanesque arches and a 14th-century chapter house. Though there wasn't much left of the abbey, it was still cool to run around and explore. If it had been a nice day, it would have been fun to play a huge group game of hide and seek!

Next stop: The Hill of Slane, which stands 518 ft above the surroundings, is the site where St. Patrick is believed to have lit a fire in 433 CE in defiance of the High King Laoire who forbid any other fires while a festival fire was burning on the Hill of Tara. Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it), he let him continue his missionary work in Ireland. There were also some building ruins that we got to explore. There were lots of hidden stairs that took us up to all kinds of towers. I would have loved exploring all these places when I was little!

Next on the itinerary was the Hill of Tara. We had learned about the Hill of Tara and New Grange just the weeks before in our history class with Betty O'Brien, which made them a bit more interesting. But there wasn't much to see at the Hill of Tara. The Hill of Tara, located near the River Boyne, is a long, low limestone ridge. It contains a number of ancient monuments, and, according to tradition, was the seat of Árd Rí na hÉireann, or the High King of Ireland. We braved the rain and made a trek out into the sheep-crap-covered field to the Lia Fáil (Irish for Stone of Destiny)-- a standing stone at the Inauguration Mound on the Hill of Tara which served as the coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland. In legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to AD 500. The Lia Fáil was thought to be magical: when the rightful High King of Ireland put his feet on it, the stone was said to roar in joy. The stone is also credited with the power to rejuvenate the king and also to endow him with a long reign. Cúchulainn split it with his sword when it failed to cry out under his protegé, Lugaid Riab nDerg, and from then on it never roared again, except under Conn of the Hundred Battles and Brian Boru. After Debbie (Elizabeth Kelling, who we now call Debbie because she always leaves early-- thus "Debbie Downer" which has now been shortened to "Debbie..." also because there are two Elizabeths and it's less confusing) tried to chase down a flock of sheep in an attempt to cuddle with them but failed, we passed by the neolithic passage tomb known as Dumha na nGiall (the Mound of the Hostages), which dates to ca. 2000 BC. It was basically a smaller version of Newgrange. We finally gave up and headed back to the bus, trying our best to stay out of the shoop (thought it was hopeless), and stopping at the adorable little book store and the gift shops near the Hill (every tourist site has them!). It was so nice to be back on the Saint Mary's bus with all the new Saint Mary's girls, Debbie, Roberta, Eugene, and even our friend Martina ;)

Enjoy the pics:

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