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| Newgrange |
Our first stop was NOT an abbey. Instead it was Newgrange, a set of neolithic sites: Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth (Those last two rhyme with mouth). These are burial sites dating from over 5000 years ago. The people who created them came to Ireland from the area around present day Turkey. They were farmers and herders who built these sites. Eventually they left Ireland, maybe due to climate change, and were later replaced by the descendants of the modern Irish. They didn’t have a written language (that we know of), but they did leave behind intricate carvings on many of the Newgrange stones. Makes one wonder if it was some sort of language, or just art.
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| Tombs at Knowth |
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| Entry way to a passage at Knowth |
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Sample of a Kerb stone.
These ring the large tomb at Knowth |
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Entry at Newgrange.
We got to go inside this passage tomb. |
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No photos are allowed inside but these shots
give you an idea of what it looks like.
The roof of the main chamber is
5000 years old and has never leaked! |
Next up, an abbey. Old Mellifont. It was another Cistercian site, built in 1142. The initial set of French monks had "difficulty" getting along with the Irish and quickly left. The site retained its religious use until the dissolution, when it was converted to a lords house. As with many of these sites, it is set in a picturesque area, beside a babbling stream.
We then headed back to Slane where we had stayed last night. At Slane is Slane Hill/Slane Abbey. This is the site where St. Patrick supposedly lit a fire that was visible to the Hill of Tara about 10 miles away. Tara was the most important pagan site at that time and where in 433, High King Laoghaire had decreed he had to light the first fire of the current pagan festival. St. Patrick defied this and lit a fire on Slane Hill. As you can imagine, Laoghaire wasn't happy, but Patrick was able to placate him and Laoghaire allowed Patrick to continue his missionary work. Patrick reminds us a great deal of the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys. He met a lot of resistance, but was able to continue on regardless of those hardships.
We then visited the Hill of Tara where we could actually see over to the building ruins on Slane Hill. Makes you feel like you could see the fire Patrick lit. As mentioned, the Hill of Tara is the most important pagan site in Ireland. Numerous grave mounds were there from Neolithic times, and in more "current times", the high kings of Ireland were crowned there. The "high" king was just the most important of the many minor kings that ruled their local areas. At various times they were crowned at Tara, or other places like Cashel. But Tara was always the most important place for this.
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| Various graves/sites on Tara |
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Statue of St Patrick is facing the hill of Slane
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Our last stop was just incidental. As we headed to Trim for the night, we passed by Bective Abbey, another Cistercian Abbey. Built in 1147. If you haven't figured it out yet, there are a lot of monasteries in Ireland. Google says 5,500. So basically around every bend there is a ruin. Randy loves it, and the others are happy to stomp around and take photos.
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| Who knew ruins could be so dangerous? |
We enjoyed a nice dinner at a local restaurant. Here’s a shot of dessert.
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| Tiramisu and Banoffee Pie |
We are almost at the end of our Iteland adventure. One final day in Trim before we try to head home.
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