HILL OF TARA

If the remains of the Hill of Tara are not really spectacular, their symbolic and historical significance is very important and it is one of the most famous sites in Ireland. Hill of Tara must have been, has been and still is an inspired site even if we can only see green mounds where sheep graze peacefully and don't care about history... We can guess, under a mound, Mound of the Hostages, a funerary passage dating from about 2000 BC. Tara was thereafter, in the 3rd century, the heart of the assemblies of the high kings of Ireland (the most powerful of them was Cormac Mac Art). No less than 142 high kings succeeded one another there. Note that at the time, the title of high king was not hereditary: the high king was chosen by an assembly or earned his title on the battlefield. The ruins of the royal enclosures and mysterious mounds can still be admired today. The site of Tara was finally a high place of the nascent Christianity (Saint Patrick would have converted there the high king Laoghaire in the^5th century). In the 6th century, St. Ruadan put a curse on the hill of Tara: "May Tara be deserted forever! The hill was abandoned and ceased to be the political capital of Ireland while remaining the spiritual center of pagan Ireland. It was also from here that in 1843 Daniel O'Connell called for a rally to protest the treatment of Catholics. Over a million people attended his speech.

On the Hill of Tara, today's visitors can see the Stone of Destiny. This is a stone that was brought to Ireland by the legendary Tuatha Dé Danaan (tribes of the goddess Dana). It is said that this stone roars when the legitimate high king sets foot on it. According to the legend, Murtagh, the king of Tara in the 6th century, lent the stone to his brother Fergus, king of Scotland. It was then called the Stone of Scone. The English stole it in 1297 to keep it under the throne of Westminster Abbey and returned it to Scotland only very recently. It has been on display in Edinburgh Castle ever since. However, it is said in Ireland that the authentic Stone of Destiny never left Ireland and remains to this day on top of the Hill of Tara. But don't try to make the Scots believe that! In any case, the Hill of Tara can be an interesting getaway to immerse oneself in these stories and this important place in Irish history.