Tara

Have you ever noticed when Irish people meet fellow countrymen for the first time, and after exchanging pleasantries, one of the first questions asked is “what part of the old country do you come from?” The reply to this will allow both to innocently apply preconceived prejudices to each other without saying so. A question or statement to the effect that half the counties of Ireland can be seen from atop the Hill of Tara sometimes pops up, when I mention I come from Meath. Having been to the summit a number of times over the years, I was unable to verify this, as the weather conditions obscured the view in one or more directions. However on my last visit, the country basked in glorious sunshine for weeks, so I took advantage of the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. The Hill of Tara is located in a geological area known as The Drumlins. These are elongated hills in the shape of a half-buried eggs, formed during the last Ice Age, that ended about twelve thousand years ago. For those of you who have climbed Croagh Patrick in Mayo, you are presented with a perfect picture of what a Drumlin field looks like if you caste your gaze over Clew Bay, all those islands are drumlins that are half submerged. The first thing that strikes you as you head for the hill, is that you do not climb it. Rather, you arrive at the top. As you follow the road signs on the narrow country roads, with hedgerows closing in on you from both sides, you lose sight of any reference points that would indicate your ascent. Suddenly the vistas open out before your eyes, as you pull into the car park. Make your way to the crown of the hill topped with the Stone of Destiny. The elevation at this point is 150 metres, which seems rather quaint considering the Great Pyramid of Egypt is higher by ten metres. If the weather conditions are favourable the views will take your breath away. On my visit I naturally looked towards Dublin city. Due to a natural phenomenon known as “Atmospheric Refraction”, the city looked incredibly close. I imagined I could skip a stone across Dublin Bay from where I stood. I suggest a pair of binoculars be taken to make identification of distant landmarks easier - something I forgot to pack. Even with 20/20 vision, faraway objects are blurred due to atmospheric pollution or was that the syrup consumed the previous night. Looking Northeast, the Mourne Mountains can be viewed. South of Dublin city are the Dublin mountains with the Wicklow mountains looking over them. Turning your gaze southwest, a small bump on the horizon is most likely Arderin on the border of counties Laos and Offaly, the highest point in the Slieve Bloom Mountains. On this day when I looked West the area was blanketed in a haze, but speaking to the old chap looking after the bookshop at the site he assured me that the outline of mountains in the west could be seen in favourable conditions. Turning my gaze to the Northwest there was the unmistakeable outline of Ben Bulben. Once again I was looking over parts of counties Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo from where I stood. This is where the statement that half the counties of Ireland can be seen from Tara might fall down. Ben Bulben is in county Sligo, and like other distant landmarks that stand out in the landscape, the countryside in between is just part of a green carpet. Looking North, the view was completely obscured by the Border – only kidding – it was the cluster of large trees blocking the view. As I moved to explore other parts of the site the thought of looking for other

BY TOM TALLON

The first thing that strikes you as you head for the hill, is that you do not climb it. Rather, you arrive at the top.

distant landmarks was temporarily forgotten as we reached the restaurant. Looking at a topographical map of Ireland, one can see that the central part of the country is fairly flat, except for the western part, so I tend to agree with the statement that half the counties of Ireland can be seen from the summit of the Hill of Tara. Now and again the old story turns up claiming that the city of New York can be seen from the west coast of Ireland shortly after the sun sets – an unnatural phenomenon called ‘alcoholic refraction’. The Hill of Tara is also famously associated with many ancient myths and legends, as well as significant events in more recent centuries. The legendary seat of the high kings of Ireland, the area has been an icon of Irish nationhood for centuries and every decade or so it is suggested as the location for a neutral capital of a united Ireland. My preference is leave it as it is. Walking around the site today, there are few signs of a regal past nor any impressive buildings, only simple earthworks, most of which appear as humps and hollows scattered about the site. Unlike ancient recorded history, which in many cases was passed down orally over the generations or depended on how scholars interpreted ancient texts, more recent events are recorded in newspapers and official documents, many of which are accessible today to anyone with a smart phone. The Battle of Tara Hill was fought on 26th May 1798 between British forces and Irish rebels from the surrounding areas of Meath, taking part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Like many similar skirmishes of this uprising, the Irish were out-gunned out-manoeuvred and out-foxed by the enemy. There is a story related that a consignment of whiskey from a Navan distillery, on its way to port, was diverted by the enemy around the Irish camp. The following morning of the battle, the poor croppy boys with their pikes and pitchforks were no match for cannon and musket fire of the opposition. As well as being the site of the Battle of Tara, this ancient place would again play an important role in the struggle for Irish freedom when, on 15th August 1843, Daniel O’Connell, the Great Liberator himself, held one of his monster meetings there. These gatherings were part of his campaign against the Union of Ireland and Great Britain which came into effect in 1801. The Act of Union is still not repealed, but today only applies to Britain and Northern Ireland. Depending of which source is referenced, this meetings attracted anywhere from half a million to one million souls. This scared the bejasus out of the authorities, and within a few weeks an act of Parliament forbade any further meetings. Can’t imagine U2 or Ed Sheeran pulling such crowds, of course The Donald would argue otherwise. A few months ago I was watching the program Great Railway Journeys on tv, and the presenter Michael Portillo, documenting some rail journeys around Ireland, mentioned something about a group of loonies who got it into their skulls that the Ark of the Covenant was buried on the Hill of Tara. These were a group of British Israelites who obtained permission from the local landlord, Gussy Briscoe, in 1899 to try and locate and recover this treasure. Not alone were the notable Irish dignitaries outraged at the desecration of a site considered sacred, the local fairies were even more upset. The rumour goes that this landlord deliberately buried bits of ‘treasure’ about the site, hoping to make a killing by renting the area out to those who wanted to excavate for ancient artifacts. After much agitation by the intelligentsia of the time, including the likes of W.B. Yeats and Arthur Griffith, they were able to influence the government, sitting in London, to put a stop to this vandalism. The fairies were most pleased. Of course us movie devotees know that Indiana Jones retrieved this sought after treasure from its hiding place in the snake pit known as the Well of Souls located in the Egyptian desert in 1936. Because of the significance of Tara to Irish culture, it was planned that Patrick Pearse – one of the leaders of the Easter Rising - would read the original Proclamation of the Republic of Ireland from the summit of the Hill on the morning of the planned 1916 uprising. However due to a change of plans and some communication problems, this never happened. Come the planning for the centenary commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising it was considered that another attempt should be made. On Easter Monday the 28th March 2016 the National president of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCE), Ann Finnegan, read the Proclamation to an appreciative crowd. Good to see that the politicians were retained in Dublin that day for the official proceedings and some photo opportunities.