Tara

Tara is where the ancient pagan kings of Ireland were crowned, and it was a major religious center for those early pre-Celtic and Celtic peoples. While we were on the hilltop, the sky opened up with water and wind, and our umbrellas were no match for it all. Although they kept our heads dry, our clothing and shoes were soaked. That discouraged us, tired as we were by late afternoon, anyway, from climbing a mountain-side to see the multiple ancient cairns at Loughcrew. We will have to return to Ireland, and visit the many prehistoric sites in the northern areas of the Republic and those in Northern Ireland. While at Tara, we walked down to Grainne’s Enclosure (Grainne was another Celtic Mother-Goddess)

and walked the great procession-way that is mistakenly known as the Banquet Hall by 19^th century antiquarians.

We also visited there the sacred Well of the White Cow (that White Cow is Boinne, pronounced Boe een, and yes, she is the river)

and Rath Maeve, an enormous circular ritual space at the bottom of the hill of Tara, which is so large that you cannot see to the other side of the circle when you stand inside it. I cannot imagine how many people would have been inside it for rituals, but it clearly could have fit thousands. Don and I both had images in mind like the one from “Avatar,” where everyone was sitting with arms linked, so they were all in physical and psychic contact with each other.

The High King of Ireland, who always ruled from the Hill of Tara, each year would set the Sacred Fire on March 25^th (the date is the Spring Equinox as well as one of the dates European cultures began their new year). All fires in Ireland would be set from that blaze (this reminds me of the Paschal Fire at the Easter Vigil, from which all candles are lighted).The story of St. Patrick’s—and Christianity’s—arrival at Tara is that he basically disrupted that lighting of the sacred fire by lighting his own fire, first, on the Hill of Slane, which could be seen from Tara. Patrick was very savvy at co-opting pagan rituals, places, and beliefs, and turning them into Christian ones. He managed to convert many Irish soon thereafter, but, unlike his behavior everywhere else in Ireland, NEVER built a church on Tara. Nor did anyone else ever do so. The High Kings of Ireland continued to be crowned there, and to rule from there, but it was never turned into a Christian place of worship, unlike many of the hills that one can see from Tara.