Historic Ireland

The two historic events below are two of my favorites but in no way represent a history of Ireland. There is a site dedicated to its history which I've known about for years, and I return to it periodically, but I don't think it's possible to get to its end in my lifetime.
Irish History on the Web hasn't been updated lately and a few links go nowhere, but that doesn't detract from the enormous wealth of information that is found there.

Tara, Co. Meath

Taragh Hill, which was also named Teagh-mor, signifying "the Great House," was frequently called Temora, deriving that name from having been the place where the convocation of the states of Ireland was assembled every three years for the deliberation of civil and ecclesiastical matters until the end of the sixth century. Since before Christianity, Tara was the settlement of the Celtic High Kings, a settlement with fortifications, banquet halls, houses, sun rooms, called "Grianan", sacred grooves, mounds, and of course the king's seat of honor. It was here, at the "Lia Fail", the stone of destiny, the different tribes and clans elected their king, their "Ard Rí", who was appointed sovereign of all Ireland, and Tara was their political and religious center. The high king's power was mostly symbolic.

This triennial convocation of the provincial kings, priests, and bards is said to have been originally instituted by the great Ollamh Fodbla, one of the ancient monarchs, celebrated as a great legislator, in the traditional records of the kingdom. The hill of Taragh was also selected by St. Patrick as a convenient spot from which to promulgate the doctrines of Christianity, which rapidly extended to every part of Ireland.

Croagh Patrick

Croagh Patrick, also called 'The Reek', is God's beacon above the picturesque seaside town of Westport. At 2,510 feet, Croagh Patrick dominates the countryside and is particularly prominent when seen from out at sea; a stony mound of a hill towering above the waves of Clew Bay. It's no surprise that ancient Celtic tribes once held pagan ceremonies at the top. The summit is bare and windswept; shrouded in mist one hour, battered by gales under a blue sky the next, is the holy ground on which St. Patrick rested, fasted and reflected during 44 days of lent in 441 A.D. Here, too, according to legend, is where Ireland's patron saint banished the snakes from the island (he didn't). It has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.

The mountain is renowned for its annual Patrician Pilgrimage in honour of Ireland's national apostle. And penitential exercises have been faithfully handed down by many generations. On the last Sunday of July each year, its slopes are full of pilgrims, many barefooted, climbing to the summit to attend Mass. It is a mystical place of beauty and peace, where the surrounding glens, hills and mountains seem to talk to each other. A stone church, weathered by storms and haunted by Ireland's prayers, waits at the summit. It is there where the people of Ireland flock and the descendants of emigrants return to kneel together in submission on the cold rock, asking for peace and giving thanks for their freedom.

Near the base of the mountain isTobair Padraig, or Patrick's Well, named for the natural spring nearby where Patrick baptized his first Irish converts. The present structure was built in the 15th century, and today is completely restored. A stone statue of St. Patrick, (pictured with your host and Croagh Patrick in the background) holding a green clover to the heavens in his right hand, stands at the beginning of the path. It is here that the faithful pray and bless themselves for strength in the holy rain and bitter, marrow-chilling wind on their journey to the top. Erected by a local priest near the base of the mountain in 1928, the statue was funded with money collected in America for rebuilding St. Mary's Church in Westport.

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