Tara

Dindsenchus (Placename Lore)
Derivation of the Name given in the 9th century Senas Cormaic (king-bishop of Cashel who died in 908).

earliest form
Temhair
medieval
Taueragh
modern
Tara

Triad 54
Trí tellaige Hérenn: tellach Temrach, tellach Caisil, tellach Crúachan.

The three households of Ireland: the household of Tara, the household of Cashel, the household of Croghan
Triad 202
Tréde neimthigedar ríg: fonaidm ruirech, feis Temrach, roimse inna fhlaith.

Three things that constitute a king: a contract with (other) kings, the feast of Tara, abundance during his reign.
Togail Bruidne Da DergaThe Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel
- Conaire, King of Tara, is subject to a number of taboos (geis) which state that he cannot:
- pass Tara on his right hand side
- pass Brega on his left
- hunt the swans of Cernae (either Carnes near Duleek or Triad 9 Tech commairce Hérenn: Tech Cairnig for sligid Assail.The Sanctuary of Ireland: the House of Cairnech upon the Road of Asal.2 )
- Stay away from Tara for longer than 9 days

1st edition OS
Placenames assigned by O’Donovan.

Rath na Riogh
measures 318 m north-south by 264 m east-west
Enclosed by an internal ditch and external bank
Name means ‘the Fort of the Kings’.
Rath na Riogh
Rath of the Synods (blue marks enclosure noted during geophysical survey)

Mound of the Hostages (Dumha na nGiall)
An Forradh (and Lia Fail)
Teach Chormaic
Rath of the Synods

WB Yeats and the British-Israelites
Navan Fort
Broad parallels between Navan Fort (top), Rath of the Synods (bottom left) and Dun Ailline (bottom right).

Lismullin

The Stone of Scone
Lia Fail
Recorded stones at Tara include Dall, Dorcha, Maol, Bloc and Bluicne (the two on the right). The taller is sometimes known as Admonans Pillar.

Sheelanagig
On a stone in the churchyard.

The present church dates from 1822; the original church on this site was founded by the Hospitallers of Saint John in about 1212 AD, part of one of the walls of the original is still standing.

'King O'Connell at Tara'This cartoon entitled 'King O'Connell at Tara' was printed in Punch magazine, 26 August 1843, was drawn by 'Shallaballa'. The Irish peasants bring their buttermilk and scrawny pigs as offerings to O'Connell, who rests on the devil's back, with his foot on the British Constitution. The scale under his arm is labelled "Justice to Ireland," and is tipped by "Daniel's Allowance." On the floor nearby is the "Royal Plunder Chest." In the summer of 1843, his monster meeting at Tara, where he called for the repeal of the Union, was attended by an estimated 750,000 people.

Mound of the Hostages

Rath Laoghaire

Claonferta and Rath Grainne
Banqueting Hall

Triad 120 (Yellow Book of Lecan)Tréde neimthigedar gobainn: bir Neithin, fulacht na Morrígna, inneóin in Dagda. Three things that constitute a blacksmith: Nethin's spit, the cooking-spit of the Morrigan, the Dagda's griddle.

Giraldus Cambrensis

Triad 202
Three things that constitute a king: a contract with (other) kings, the feast of Tara, abundance during his reign.

View of Skryne
St Patrick
Arrives on the eve of Easter, lights paschal fire on Hill of Slane.
When the ‘druids’ at Tara saw the light from Slane, they warned King Laoghaire that he must extinguish it or it would burn forever.
Patrick summoned to Tara (on the way singing the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate“).
Impresses Laoghaire who lets him Christianise.
Early Christians…
Christianity was probably first introduced to Ireland sometime at the very end of the 4th century AD or early in the 5th century AD
The earliest church sites are not easy to identify or date
Sometimes only placename evidence survives

Early Christians
Earliest church developed as members of the aristocracy were converted by the earliest missionary/converts (such as St. Patrick)
Initial Christianisation appears to occur in the south half of Ireland in the late fourth or early fifth century AD and spreads to the northern half by around 450-460 AD
Ogham
Dating evidence suggests the earliest stones with ogham inscriptions date to around the 4th century AD.
Ogham (map)
Main areas of distribution may reflect earliest Christianisation.
Early Ecclesiastical Centres
As the earliest churches were associated with the aristocracy, the early parish and bishopric boundaries tend to be similar to the early kingdoms or chiefdoms in Ireland
As a result – the power of bishops was confined to their own kingdom

Early Christians
Monastic sites and hermitage emerge that are independent of the parish-bishopric system
They appear to have been given separate endowments and are economically independent
Successful monasteries are able to set up or acquire additional monasteries and increase their prestige
This system survives in various forms until the arrival of the Normans in the 12th century AD

Early Christians
These early Christian centres often survive today as large enclosures, sometimes with multiple concentric earthworks or ditches.
Today these are often only visible as crop marks from the air.
In some cases, only the placename evidence survives:
Cell often anglicised as Kill
Domhnaig often anglicised as Donagh or Downey
Teampall often anglicised as Temple

Ringforts
Univallate (i.e. one enclosing bank).
Example here is from Killyliss in Tyrone.
Ringforts
Bivallate (i.e. two enclosing banks).
Example here is from Lisnageeha in Tipperary.
Ringforts
Multivallate (i.e. more than two enclosing banks).
Example here is from Garranes in Cork.
Ringforts
Platform or raised ringfort
Example here is from Rathmullan in Down.
Dressogagh, Armagh + Whiteford, Down
Ballinderry 2, Offaly: crannog
Corofin,Clare

Carn More, County Louth(from www.nra.ie)
Newtownbalregan, County Louth

Horizontal Mills