January 28, 2017 (County Meath, Ireland)

Grant, John, and I didn’t know what to expect when we set off for this tour. We were lucky in that the tour company didn’t have any other customers besides us, so we had our own private tour at our  pace. I had lots of questions to ask the tour guide/bus driver, and he was held hostage by our group, so he answered them with steel-strength patience.

This day was unusually cold for us. It was evidenced by the frost that had gathered on all the foliage and grass in the Irish countryside. Our tour guide dropped us off at Newgrange, encouraged us to get acquainted with the visitor’s center, and reminded us to meet the shuttle bus that would take us out to the Newgrange site, at specifically 15 minutes later.

It was a mini-walk to get to the shuttle bus, and here we got a picture of the frosty scenery and amused ourselves with our breaths being visible in the chilly air (this is what you get when you take Hawaii people and put them in cold places, it gets amusing).

 

 

 

Newgrange is what’s known as a passage tomb, a prehistoric structure that’s older than the pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge. I was excited to get to see something so ancient. No one knows exactly what passage tombs are used for but what’s special about Newgrange is that the entrance lines up exactly so that during the winter solstice, for a few hours in the morning, the sun will shine through and line up exactly with the passage way to the center of the tomb and light up the center chamber. This is precision architecture.

How the ancients had this kind of knowledge is anybody’s guess and has led to many speculations from temples of ancient druids to the tomb having been built by aliens. What adds to this mystery is that fact that a few ancient remains were found during the excavation in the center chamber, and when the bodies were flown out for testing, they disappeared, never to be found again. My guess is that they ended up in the basement of the Smithsonian.

Grant and I, at the time, were really getting into the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens Series and were excited to find out that they had taped an episode here at Newgrange.

Because we’re not allowed to take photos in the tomb itself, here’s some of the outside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were inside the chamber, our tour guide did a demonstration using a light that could simulate the movement of the sun shining through on the winter solstice. Here’s a photo from World Heritage Ireland website:

 

Afterwards we walked around and then took the shuttle bus back to the visitor’s center.

At this point the jet lag seemed to have caught up with John, so he went to the back row of our tour bus, spread himself out, and fell into a deep slumber. How do I know this? Because his snoring became the soundtrack on our bus ride to the next site, and to all the rest of the sites that day. This is why the rest of our photos will be John-less. It’s not because we are mean and outcasted him. So with this disclaimer, I continue.

The next site we visited was Monasterboice, a medieval ruin founded in the 5th Century by St. Buithe. The two churches that sit on the site were built in the 14th Century. Although we have visited many monastic ruins in Ireland, this site was significant because it has what’s considered the finest Celtic cross in the country. The other cross is very large and I think together, they comprise the largest monastic crosses in Ireland. These crosses seemed to combine elements from Christianity and paganism, they contain reliefs of not just scenes from the Bible but astrological symbols as well.

 

This is one of two large Celtic crosses at the site called the West Cross. This one isn’t as well preserved as you can see chunks missing from the bottom of the cross. Our guide explained that when there was a migration of Irish people to America and other parts of the world during the Great Potato Famine, it was common for  people of the area to pick off a piece of this cross to take with them as a reminder of home:

 

 

 

 

Photo of the Muiredach Cross – “The finest cross in Ireland”:

 

 

The next site was located on a rainy hill, so our guide explained what we would see, and then sent us on our way with umbrellas. The Hill of Slane rises about 158 meters (518 feet) above its surroundings. As such, this would have been a significant hill for rulers and it is said that the ancient king Sláine mac Dela is buried here. It was also the site of a pagan shrine and was the spot chosen by the first Christian missionary to Ireland, St. Patrick, to build a famous fire in celebration in 433 A.D. Soon after St. Patrick arrived, a monastery was built. This fell to ruin until the arrival of Sir Christopher Fleming who founded a Franciscan friary and rebuilt the church in 1512. The ruins you see here are from this friary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we visit the Hill of Tara, which is considered one of the most sacred sites in Ireland and is home to a number of different ancient monuments. It was also believed to be the seat of the High King of Ireland. The Hill of Tara is considered the “chief pagan sanctuary of early Ireland” and solidified its historical significance as an ancient burial site when the first communal passage tomb (one similar to Newgrange) was built in late 4000 B.C.

This was also the site of the coronation of many of Ireland’s early kings. It was here that the festival of Ostara was being held and a festival fire was lit. During this festival, one couldn’t light any other fires. But in defiance, St. Patrick lit his fire on the Hill of Slane, which could be seen from the Hill of Tara, 18 kilometers away. The King then ordered his soldiers to arrest him and put out the fire, but the soldiers returned saying they could not put out it out. So the King himself tried and couldn’t put out the fire. Legend says that this is what convinced the King that the magic that St. Patrick possessed was greater than the king’s own influence, and he then allowed the saint to continue his missionary work in Ireland. The king never converted to Christianity himself. After St. Patrick’s arrival, the significance of the Hill of Tara dwindled while other sites dedicated to Christianity rose in prominence.

It is also said that St. Patrick made his speech to the people of Ireland by picking up a three-leaf shamrock and comparing it to the Holy Trinity, thus changing Ireland’s history forever by bringing Christianity to the Irish people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Hill of Slane, we weren’t able to get into a portion of the friary as it was roped off. But that’s probably a good thing since crawling through a crumbling, four-storey stone ruin might just ruin our day (pun intended)! We were able to explore the church though. I enjoyed Newgrange the best. To me it felt like the most spiritual place out of all the sites that day.

All in all, I recommend this tour if you are interested in ancient Irish history. The tour company we went with was Day Tours Unplugged. Just don’t go when you’re jet-lagged as John can attest.

“John, check out our photos we took while you were sleeping”. John’s response, “Oh…”

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