Saint Patrick was married - his wife's name was Sheelah and St. Sheelah's Day was celebrated on March 18th

The revelation in today's Irish Times that Saint Patrick had a wife whose name was Sheelah is tremendously exciting for a number of reasons. Shane Lehane, a folklorist from University College Cork (UCC) has discovered pre-Famine references to a widespread belief that Saint Patrick had a wife and that St. Sheelah's Day was celebrated the day after St. Patrick's Day, on March 18th.

Lehane is quoted in the Irish Times as saying "Pre-Famine, if you go back to the newspapers in Ireland they talk not just about Patrick's Day but also Sheelah's Day. I came across numerous references that Sheelah was thought to be Patrick's wife. The fact that we have Patrick and Sheelah should be no surprise. Because that duality, that union of male and female together, is one of the strongest images that we have in our mythology."

A Sheela-na-Gig, female deity with exposed/exaggerated genitalia, carved into a standing stone at Hill of Tara.

Although the devastating effects of the Great Famine on Irish culture can never be truly quantified, we have a significant example here of a folk belief that seems to have died out in Ireland with the famine. References to Sheelah's Day were found in the Freeman's Journal of 1785, 1811 and 1841, but the feast day has been "largely forgotten about in Ireland" according to Lehane.

Some time ago, I wrote about the story of the "twining branches" (Deirdre and the Children of Uisneach) and how memories of this creation myth were brought by Irish emigrants to Nova Scotia. The story of Sheelah seems to follow a similar fate. Before the Famine, which happened in the late 1840s, the celebration of St. Patrick's Day continued into March 18th for his wife's special day, St. Sheelah's Day (and of course in typical Irish fashion copious amounts of alcohol were consumed.) However, after the Famine the tradition seems to have died out here, but Irish migrants who ended up in such places as Newfoundland, Canada and Australia brought the tradition with them.

Lehane says perhaps the most enduring legacy of Sheelah is the so-called “Sheelah’s Brush.” This is the name given by Newfoundlanders and Atlantic Canadians to a winter snowstorm that falls after St Patrick’s Day.

Sometimes referred to as “Sheelah’s Broom” - or if the snowstorm is mild with only a bare covering of snow, “Sheila’s Blush” - it is still referred to respectfully by meteorologists and fisherman in that part of the world.

Undoubtedly some media commentators will pick up on the obvious relevance of Patrick's wife to the whole discourse about Catholic celibacy - and the perceived connection between that peculiar diktat of the traditional church here and the many sex and paedophile scandals that have decimated the Catholic faith here in Ireland.

A somewhat obscure and tenuous but perhaps very important connection is made by Lehane between Saint Sheelah and the "hugely interesting archaeological manifestation that also bears her name" - the Sheelah-na-Gig.

"Sheela-na-Gig is a basic medieval carving of a woman exposing her genitalia. These images are often considered to be quite grotesque. They are quite shocking when you see them first.  Now we look at them very much as examples of old women showing young women how to give birth. They are vernacular folk deities associated with pregnancy and birth." (Source)

And Lehane believes that the tradition of Sheelah could and should be revived and embraced in Ireland.

""Sheelah represented, for women in particular, a go-to person because she represented the female. The Sheela-na-Gig is a really important part of medieval folk tradition. She is an important folk deity. The figure of Sheelah was perhaps much bigger than suggested by the scant mentions we find in the old newspaper accounts. She would have been massively important. She represents a folk personification, allied to, what can be termed, the female cosmic agency, and being such, would have played a major role in people’s everyday lives. It is a pity that the day has died out. But maybe we will revive it."

A revival and reactivation of Sheelah

My own view is that the revival of the tradition of a female deity equal in status to Patrick might very well be important to the spiritual well-being of a country which has been very heavily influenced by patriarchal religious zeal for centuries, an influence that is seen by some as a contributory factor in many of Ireland's ills. The symbolic importance of Patrick (who was, ironically, a Romano-British immigrant to these shores) cannot be understated in the milieu of a nation defined for so long by its trenchant support for the male-dominated Roman church.

A statue of Saint Patrick looks out across Gabhra Valley from Hill of Tara.

Now we have the chance to reconcile the tradition of an almost-forgotten woman into the complex folk fabric of a fractured cultural history - a history that, it must be borne in mind, was vibrantly aware of the necessity for accessibility to the feminine deity in most of its past eras. The patriarchal influence of Rome did not decimate the ancient divine feminine - rather it forced upon us some sort of collective obeisance to the supremacy of the omniscient and jealous male god of the old testament, forcing the old indigenous female deities such as the Cailleach and Sheelah into the shadows.

The female wasn't altogether banished, but rather was revealed in a guise that was somewhat familiar, with reflections of the ancient goddesses of old but very much dressed in the raiment of a woman whose power was contingent upon the emanations of the Catholic patriarchy. Thus, Brigid the prehistoric goddess survived as the saint who became known to us as Muire na nGael, the Mary of the Irish, and indeed the Catholic Church had allowed Mary to become a co-redemptrix with Jesus. The presence of this ancient goddess, albeit in diluted form, in the church of Rome was probably one of the factors that had helped the church to become established in the first place.

Further to the possible revival of the tradition of Sheelah here is the possibility that incorporating her into our national celebrations could become a hugely significant act. We have here the very vivid and exciting possibility of activating or reactivating a feminine energy that is, as CG Jung might have suggested, of supreme importance for the ultimate rehabilitation of the modern human soul through the reconciliation of the masculine and feminine elements in life.

Can one yet countenance the notion of a Saint Patrick's Day AND a Saint Sheelah's Day? A national holiday for Ireland, spanning two days, recognising the male and the female, and allowing both to hold equal court in the hearts and minds of Irish people and their descendants and friends all around the world?

One of the ironies of the story about the disappearance of Sheelah from popular folk memory is that she hasn't vanished at all. The Sheelah tradition simply moved abroad with the forced migrations resulting from mass starvation. Many of those who stayed behind perished. Sheelah's story might have perished with the Famine also (even if Patrick's story only became more ubiquitous) except for the fact that her flame was kept burning abroad, in distant lands, by those who left these shores. The supreme irony is that Patrick - who was married - brought the tradition of Jesus to these shores, from a distant land, and that even though that tradition espoused celibacy for its all-male clergy,  Patrick himself had a wife.

It could only happen in Ireland.

The prophecy of the ard-druid from 'The Coming of Cuculain' by Standish O'Grady - read by Anthony Murphy

Standish O'Grady was the son of a protestant clergyman who ironically became part of what has become known as the 'Gaelic Revival' literary movement. Despite his belief that Ireland was better off as part of the United Kingdom, O'Grady's writings as a scholar of Gaelic mythology, Irish history and his works of fiction, inspired those who thought otherwise.

'The Coming of Cuculain' is a historical novel, based around the story of Sétanta/Cúchulainn that we might be familiar with from the manuscripts, but obviously heavily embellished as a work of fiction. Nonetheless, it is very enjoyable. It was published by The Talbot Press in 1894. It features an introduction by A.E. (George William Russell), one of the leading figures of the Gaelic Revival.

In the video, I am reading from Chapter 1, The Red Branch, where the ard-druid, Cathvah, makes a prophecy concerning the coming of the wonder child. It is dramatic and poetic, and biblical in tone. Many mythologies around the world contain narratives concerning the prophesised coming of some sort of hero or warrior or saviour. In this case, the subject of the prophecy is Sétanta, the boy who will eventually kill the hound of Culainn to become the warrior Cúchulainn, who leads the Ulster warriors against Medb's Connacht army.

"Yea, he is coming. He draweth nigh.
Verily it is he whom I behold—
The predicted one—the child of many prophecies—
Chief flower of the Branch that is over all—
The mainstay of Emain Macha—the battle-prop of the Ultonians—
The torch of the valour and chivalry of the North—
The star that is to shine for ever upon the forehead of the Gael.
It is he who slumbers upon Slieve Fuad—
The child who is like a star—
Like a star upon Slieve Fuad.
There is a light around him never kindled at the hearth of Lu,
The Grey of Macha keeps watch and ward for him,
And the whole mountain is filled with the Tuatha de Danan."

'The Coming of Cuculain' read by Anthony Murphy.

The old world in all its green and youthful beauty

I could fly from one side of Ireland to the other and I’d hear nothing but the rush of the wind, the running of the rivers and the wild creatures of the forests. There were no machines, no engines, no metal birds roaring through the sky. No roads and railways. No concrete buildings and smoking chimneys. No bellowing and rumbling of the industry of man. Just the old world in all its green and youthful beauty. Oh how I long for those days to return.

From The Cry of the Sebac, a novel by Anthony Murphy. Available on Amazon Kindle and coming to print soon.

https://www.amazon.com/Cry-Sebac-Anthony-Murphy-Journalist-ebook/dp/B01DE75Z50/

The celebration of Samhain/Hallowe'en probably goes right back into prehistoric times in Ireland

Samhain is, by many accounts, the most important calendar festival in ancient Ireland. It was considered the beginning of wintertime, and the dark half of the year. Its opposite festival was Bealtaine, in May, contrasting Samhain with the renewal of life and the blossoming of many trees and flowers.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Samhain is its endurance in popular celebration. Today, we continue to celebrate Samhain as Hallowe'en, when we light bonfires, set off fireworks, and play games. The lighting of fires at sacred times in the calendar is a practice that is very very ancient.

In this video, I speak about Samhain and its celebration, and its origins. There is a reading from the work of Celtic scholar James Mackillop, on the importance of the festival of Samhain and how many things that happen at this sacred time of year are highlighted in the ancient texts.

Hallowe'en fires in Ireland.

Every third year, an important Feis or gathering was held at the Hill of Tara on Samhain. At the nearby Tlachtga, or Hill of Ward, the lighting of the Samhain fires was a fundamentally important act. That ceremony has been reestablished in modern times. Samhain was a time when it was thought most favourable for a woman to become pregnant.

In Mag Slécht in Cavan, the "principal idol" of ancient Ireland by Christian scribes, Crom Crúach, was worshipped. It is suggested that human sacrifices might have been offered to Crom Crúach, who was in fact called "Samhain" by some scholars.

Significant action that takes place at Samhain is highlighted in some of the early Irish texts. For instance, it is at Samhain that the Fomorians extract their taxes of corn, milk and live children. The demon Aillén mac Midgna came to Tara every year at Samhain to burn it down, until he was eventually defeated by Fionn Mac Cumhaill. A similar demon, known as Aillén Tréchenn (from trí ceann, three-headed) came from Cruachan in Roscommon, and caused havoc in all of Ireland, especially Emain Macha (Armagh) and Tara. The warrior Cúchulainn, who we encounter in the Táin Bó Cuailnge, encounters otherwordly damsels at Samhain, and of course this was the hallowed time of year when Aongus Óg and his otherwordly lover Caer flew off together in the form of swans (see the Cygnus Enigma).

Sunset around Samhain from the ancient burial mound of Knowth/Cnogba.

Samhain was also the time when Midir whisked Englec away from Knowth/Cnogba, according to the Dindshenchas text about how that ancient monument got its name. Englec, a daughter of Elcmar, was the lover of Aonghus, but he was playing Samhain games with his friends. Midir took her away, to Síd ar Femin (Slievenamon in Co. Tipperary). Finding that she is gone, Aonghus performs a strange ceremony of mourning for her. He casts some "blood red nuts of the forest", which are hazel nuts, on the ground and makes a lamentation around them. American researcher Helen McKay has suggested that this is a metaphor for the children who died in Stone Age times, and that the casting of the nuts on the ground represents the placing of the bone fragments of the deceased on to the floor of the chamber of Knowth. (See separate blog post on the Nut Lamentation here).

I was lucky to have been able to visit Knowth yesterday, shortly before the monument is closed for the winter. I think it's ironic that the site should close at Samhain, when Aonghus's lover was whisked away and he lamented for her, and that it opens again at Easter, which may be an important aspect of Knowth's astronomical function.

Knowth's name is an anglicisation of its ancient Irish name - Cnogba, which according to the Dindshenchas is either from Cnoc Bua, the Hill of Bua/Buí, an ancient goddess, or Cnó Guba, the Nut Lamentation.

Of further significance is that some ancient stone monuments appear to have alignments towards Samhain sunrises and sunsets. For instance, Duma na nGiall or Mound of the Hostages on Tara, has a passage that faces (broadly speaking) the sunrise on Samhain and Imbolc (November/February cross-quarter festival). Dowth's northern passage points towards Newgrange for Samhain sunset (pictured below in a view from the top of Dowth mound).

Samhain sunset over Newgrange viewed from Dowth.

Cairn L at Carnbane West at Loughcrew (Sliabh na Caillighe) points towards Samhain sunrise, as seen in this wonderful video from Victor Reijs:

Another video of the Cairn L alignment by John Willmott features some beautiful photos set to gorgeous music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyCE8jzWILM

The remarkable geological secret behind the location where the large stones of Newgrange were sourced

The giant kerb stones of Newgrange, and many of those at Knowth, weighing up to five tonnes apiece and more, were sourced along the coastline at Clogherhead, and brought by sea and river to the Bend of the Boyne, where the great megalithic monuments at Brú na Bóinne were built more than 5,000 years ago.

What is not widely known is that Clogherhead holds a fascinating geological secret, one that is extremely unlikely to have been known by the ancient megalithic builders of the Boyne Valley. At this promontory of land that projects out into the Irish Sea from the coast of what is now County Louth, there are rock formations which are vertical. The stones jut up out of the land in jagged layers. It was here that, over five millennia ago, the builders of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth sourced many of the large stones that were used for kerbing, and for orthostats and structural stones.

A map showing the approximate seam or fault line (border) that once separated the two continents.

What the builders did not know was that these jagged rock formations are the result of a significant seismic event 400 million years ago, in which two continents smashed together. It's hard to imagine today, but there is a "border" of sorts running from Clogherhead down to the Shannon Estuary. Everything north of this "border" was once on a continent that has been given the name Laurentia, while everything south of there was on a continent called Avalonia. The types of fossils found either side of this so-called border, which is now called the Iapetus Suture, are very different.

It's hard to believe that Laurentia and Avalonia, and by extention the northern and southern parts of Ireland, were once separated by 3,000 kilometres of ocean! This ocean has (in modern times of course) been given the name the Iapetus Ocean - hence the Iapetus Suture.

The website Ingenious Ireland says the following about the collision of these continents and the different types of fossil found north and south of Ireland's ancient border:

A spiral-shaped fossil at Clogherhead.

The half of Ireland that lies north of the seam was originally joined with Scotland, Greenland and North America in the ancient continent of Laurentia. The south-eastern half of Ireland, along with Wales, England and Brittany, formed the smaller continent of Avalonia. Some 500 million years ago Laurentia lay at the Equator, Avalonia lay further south, and between them was the Iapetus Ocean (Iapetus was the father of Atlantis, after whom the Atlantic Ocean is named).

Fossils from this time found in the northern Laurentian, or ‘American’, half of Ireland are very different from those found in the Avalonian, or ‘European’, half. This reflects the fact that they came from distant parts of the world once separated by 3,000 kilometres of ocean.

An inlet at Clogherhead where it's possible Neolithic mound builders tied large greywacke slabs on to barges.

The builders of Newgrange used the vertical formations of layered greywacke at Clogherhead to their advantage. They were, it seems, able to prise specimens out using something like wooden poles and, we are told by archaeologists, strap them to the underside of a barge. At high tide, the sea would lift the raft, with stone underneath, and the "pilot" of this barge would steer it down the coast and up the River Boyne.

The bear bone that has pushed back the date of human presence in Ireland by 2,500 years to 10500BC

A fascinating discovery in the darkness of a cave in County Clare has forced archaeologists to rewrite the history of Ireland. A bear bone found in the cave pushes back the date of human presence in Ireland by 2,500 years - to 12,500 years ago.

The cave near Ennis in Co. Clare in which the Paleolithic bear bone was found in 1903.

"This is a hugely significant and exciting discovery," says Dr. Marion Dowd, an archaeologist at IT Sligo, who was co-discoverer with Dr. Ruth Carden of the National Museum of Ireland. "We've effectively pushed back the date of human occupation of the island of Ireland by two and a half thousand years. Until now, we knew that people had been here about 10,000 years ago, but now we've pushed that back into an earlier period - into the Paleolithic."

Dr. Marion Dowd of IT Sligo.

"This journey began in 1903 when a team of scientists, the foremost scientists in Ireland at the time, excavated a small cave, known as Alice and Gwendoline Cave, outside Ennis in County Clare. During those excavations, they recovered archaeological material, and thousands of animal bones."

"The bone that forms the centre of our project was one of those bones, and they commented on this bone in their excavation report. They remarked on the fact that it had these cut marks."

The bone is a patella, or knee bone, and belonged to an adult bear. Dr. Dowd says that the cut marks on the bone indicate someone trying to butcher the bear carcass.

"We're looking at a scenario where you have a bear and it's being butchered. They're cutting through the knee area, probably to pull out the tendons."She said that the "butcher" was likely to have been inexperienced because there were seven or eight cut marks on the bone and they were seemingly having difficulty cutting through the area.

The Paleolithic bear bone with linear cut marks.

A sample was taken from the bone and sent to Queen's University Belfast for carbon dating. The sample returned a date of 12,500 years ago. This puts it in the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age.

"This was very exciting," said Dr. Dowd, adding that it was "completely unexpected". For the purpose of confirmation, a second sample was extracted from the bear bone and sent to Oxford University, whose radiocarbon dating laboratory "sent back exactly the same result".

Now that they knew the age of the bone, they wanted to confirm that the cut marks on the bone were contemporaneous with the bone itself, and not something that was added years, or perhaps centuries, later. Three specialists independently examined the cut marks. All three experts agreed that the marks were made with a "sharp implement" and that they had been made "on fresh bone". The bear bone was butchered soon after death.

The discovery changes the history books, and pushes back the earliest date of known occupation of Ireland to 10500BC. There have been problems with identifying remains from the Paleolithic era - primarily due to the action of glaciers during the Ice Age, which had the effect of scouring a lot of evidence away. The melt waters at the end of the Ice Age would also have washed a lot of material away.

Thousands of animal bones were found in Alice and Gwendoline Cave in County Clare in 1903.

Dr. Dowd said scientists and archaeologists had been looking for evidence of Paleolithic human activity since the 1860s.

Excitingly, there may be the prospect of a return to the cave, where some archaeological digging of the sediments there might reveal further tantalising clues to Ireland's very ancient past.

This one sample of bone rewrites the history of Ireland and adds 2,500 years to its human story.

Watch a YouTube video about this remarkable discovery:

Welcome to Fourknocks! - a quick tour of ancient megalithic monument in photographs and video

A wide-angle view of Fourknocks from the northeast. It was excavated and restored in the 1950s.

Fourknocks is a small megalithic passage-tomb on a ridge in southeastern County Meath, about 9 miles (14.7km) miles from Newgrange. The passage of Newgrange actually points towards Fourknocks, although neither site can be seen from the other due to intervening hills. There were two mounds excavated at Fourknocks by archaeologist P.J. Hartnett in the 1950s - this one, labelled Fourknocks I, and a nearby mound known as Fourknocks II. The latter was found to contain a cremation trench, where it is thought the remains of the deceased were cremated before being placed in Fourknocks I. This is a small selection of photos and a video from Fourknocks I, showing several of its features.

The short passage leading into a large, egg-shaped chamber with three recesses.

The entrance lintel stone has been placed on its side in the chamber for protection.

The western or right-hand recess. It is the largest recess and has a small plinth stone within.

A view towards the entrance, showing the lintel (left) and the "guardian" stone (right) illuminated.

Zig-zag carvings on a lintel above the interior of the passage. Their meaning is not known.

Concentric circles on another stone near the passageway. The stone is known only as Stone B.

Honouring the ancestors at Fourknocks.

A faded spiral on Stone B.

Lozenges and zig-zags on the lintel of the southern (end) recess.

Don't forget to watch this short video from inside Fouknocks. It gives a brief idea of the size of the monument and some of the features inside.

The Tara Brooch - Ireland's finest piece of jewellery

The Tara Brooch on display in the Treasury, National Museum (Archaeology), Kildare St., Dublin.

The Tara Brooch has rightly been described as Ireland's finest piece of jewellery. It dates from the 7th century AD and represents the pinnacle of achievement by the early medieval Irish metalworkers.

However, the brooch has no known connection with either the Hill of Tara, after which it is named, or the High Kings who ruled there. It was, supposedly, found on Bettystown beach in County Meath, a mere four and a half miles (7km) from where I live here in Drogheda.

The story goes that it was found at Bettystown in 1850 by a peasant woman's children. They allegedly found it in a box which had been buried in the sand. However, there is a belief the brooch was really discovered somewhere inland and that the peasant woman's family had changed details of the story to avoid any dispute with the owner of the land where it was really found. On August 24th 1850 (and remember this was just after the Great Famine, when times were tough), the woman offered the brooch for sale to the owner of an old iron shop here in Drogheda. Can you imagine receiving such a fabulous and priceless artifact into your hands and then deeming it to be of little worth? That's what happened:

"[He] refused to purchase to light and insignificant (sic) an article; it was subsequently bought by a watchmaker in the town, who, after cleaning and examining it, proceeded to Dublin and disposed of it to us (Messrs. Waterhouse & Co., Jewellers, Dame Street), for nearly as many pounds sterling as he had given pence for it."(1)

A different story about the discovery of the Tara Brooch later emerged. Sir William Wilde (father of Oscar Wilde) had compiled a Catalogue of the Silver and Ecclesiastical Antiquities in the Collection of the Royal Irish Academy in 1862. This was not published until 1915. In it, Wilde refers to certain silver objects found "in the excavation for the harbour wall at the mouth of the river Boyne, near Drogheda, in an oak box, and along with them the brooch called that of Tara."(2)

The only thing in common with the two stories is that the brooch was found in a box and that it was found somewhere along the coast of the Drogheda area.

A view of the Tara Brooch on display at the National Museum. © Anthony Murphy

Whatever the truth about the location of its discovery, the Dame Street jeweller, George Waterhouse, was the one who renamed this most precious item the Tara Brooch, linking the find to the Irish High Kings, "fully aware that this would feed the Irish middle-class fantasy of being descended from them."(3)

And it worked. The Tara Brooch was displayed as a standout showpiece at The Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and the Paris Exposition Universelle, as well as the Dublin exhibition visited by the Queen in 1853. Prior to this, it had even been specially sent to Windsor Castle for her inspection.(4)

Around 1867, the brooch came into the collection of the Royal Irish Academy. It was sold to the RIA for the sum of £200, quite a lot of money in those days, and sold "on the express condition that it should never be allowed to leave Ireland".

The Tara Brooch is currently on display at the Treasury room of the National Museum (Archaeology) in Kildare Street, Dublin, where the public can see it for free. You are also allowed to take photographs of it - but there are conditions, so make sure to read them on the museum's website before visiting.Here is the museum's description of the Tara Brooch:

It is made of cast and gilt silver and is elaborately decorated on both faces. The front is ornamented with a series of exceptionally fine gold filigree panels depicting animal and abstract motifs that are separated by studs of glass, enamel and amber. The back is flatter than the front, and the decoration is cast. The motifs consist of scrolls and triple spirals and recall La Tène decoration of the Iron Age.
A silver chain made of plaited wire is attached to the brooch by means of a swivel attachment. This feature is formed of animal heads framing two tiny cast glass human heads.
Along with such treasures as the Ardagh Chalice and the Derrynaflan Paten, the Tara Brooch can be considered to represent the pinnacle of early medieval Irish metalworkers’ achievement. Each individual element of decoration is executed perfectly and the range of technique represented on such a small object is astounding.(5)

Just one final thought, and that is the significance of the Boyne Estuary, if that is indeed where the brooch was found. This is where the builders of Newgrange brought the stones for the monument in from the sea. This is, according to myth, the place where the Milesians landed when they came to take Ireland from the Tuatha Dé Danann. It is also reputedly the place where Saint Patrick landed when he arrived to bring Christianity here. One wonders if the brooch was not part of a haul that was either being brought into the country, or, more likely, being secreted away to be sold abroad; and, if the latter was the case, what misfortune came upon its then owner at the mouth of the Boyne. Whatever happened, we are exceedingly lucky to be able to enjoy its splendor today.

References:
(1) H.A. Wheeler, The Tara Brooch: Where Was It Found?, Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1950), pp 155-158.
(2) Ibid. 
(3) http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/the-tara-brooch-one-of-irelands-greatest-treasures-explained
(4) Ibid.
(5) http://www.museum.ie/Archaeology/Exhibitions/Current-Exhibitions/The-Treasury/Gallery-1-Iron-Age-to-12th-Century/Tara-Brooch-(1)

Enjoy this short time lapse video of a beautiful summer dusk sky over Newgrange in the Boyne Valley

This is a short video made on Monday evening after sunset at Newgrange. It is a time lapse video, showing about six minutes of cloud movement compressed into about three. I hope you enjoy it. The sun has now passed its maximum northerly declination and so from here onward the days will be getting shorter again. However, for a couple of weeks there will still be a constant twilight glow on the northern horizon throughout the night. I love this time of year.

Dowth and the story of hunger - ancient monument built during a famine and almost destroyed during one too

I was at Dowth on the Summer Solstice, which was on Monday last. It was nice to be at Dowth on the longest day of the year, and quite fitting because of an ancient myth about the site. I was with a small group, talking about the mythology of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the sun was beating down from its height at the very apex of its circuit through the zodiac. We could not see it, but at that moment the sun was being carried across the sky by the great constellation Orion.

Dowth at midnight tonight. Even with cloud cover, it's still bright enough to see. I added some kerb light!

There is a myth about how and why Dowth was constructed, contained in the Metrical Dindshenchas, the oldest versions of which are found in the 12th century Lebor na Nuachongbala (known as the Book of Leinster). As I sat there in the sunshine at Dowth, I wondered about the sudden darkness that is described in the Dindshenchas story about Dubthach/Dowth, the darkness that broke a powerful spell.

The king at the time, according to the story, was Bressal Bódibad (the second part of his name means "lacking in cattle", for reasons that will become obvious). He wished to build a "solid hill", in the likeness of the tower of Nimrod, "so that from it he might pass to heaven". It is said that "the men of all Erin came to make for him that hill" and that they came to do it all in one day.

The endless day of the Dowth myth might be Summer Solstice.

The king's sister cast a spell on the sun, so that "there should be no night but bright day till the work reached completion". Those of you familiar with my work will know that I think this is a reference to the Summer Solstice, when the daylight is pretty much continuous, and when the sun's rising and setting positions appear to halt on the horizon, i.e. the sun stands still. At this latitude, even in the middle of the night we get a constant twilight, giving enough light to enable us to see in the dark. This is obvious in the main photo above, taken tonight at midnight. Even with 90% cloud cover, it was still bright enough to see what I was doing without extra light.

The king's sister is not named in the surviving Dindshenchas verse about Dowth. However, as the work progresses, the King commits incest with her, and the spell is broken. Night falls suddenly. The men abandon the construction project. "Since darkness has fallen upon our work, and night has come on and the day is gone, let each depart to his place".

What's interesting about this grand project, which seems an extraneous project orchestrated by an egotistical and megalomaniacal king, is that the legend says it was built during the time of a great famine:

"In his time a murrain came upon the kine of Erin, until there was left in it but seven cows and a bull."

At the height of this famine, the king gathered all the men of Erin to this place to build him a tower so that he could reach heaven. Is this a description of slave labour? If there is any real substance to the myth as a record of actual historical events, it must be pointed out that surely the worst time to ask human beings to indulge in heavy physical work is when they are famished. However, that's what the story says. They built it during a murrain, with only eight cattle left on the whole island of Ireland to sustain its population. This aspect of the story is, we gather, allegorical. But it is interesting in light of a strange coincidence between myth and reality that has always been obvious to me but which I only came to realise the true significance of this past Summer Solstice a few days ago.

That coincidence is this - Dowth was said to have been built during a famine, and it was almost destroyed during one too.

Moving from myth into factual, recorded history, we skip forward in time to the 1840s AD. In the years 1847-48, R.H. Firth, at the behest of the Committee of Antiquities of the Royal Irish Academy, carried out a disastrous excavation of the Dowth monument which caused it considerable damage. A commentary in the Drogheda Conservative newspaper in 1856 describes it thus:

"...we find that beautiful tumulus literally torn to pieces".

The crater in Dowth left by the 1840s excavations.

Large amounts of cairn material were removed, and tossed over the sides, in an ill-fated attempt to find some treasure, or central chamber containing perhaps trinkets that might make men rich. But as I always say, the true treasure of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth are not any material goods that might be found within them. Their true treasures are much, much deeper.

An even greater tragedy about the Firth excavation is the fact that this rich man's treasure hunt occurred during the Great Famine, when the failure of the potato crop due to blight caused death and starvation for hundreds of thousands.

"It is interesting to note that, in the middle of the Great Famine, during which a million Irish people died and another million emigrated, the esteemed gentlemen of the privileged class had nothing better to occupy their thoughts than an ill-conceived and unsuccessful 'treasure hunt' at Dowth, for which a special subscription had to be raised, while the population was suffering one of the worst calamities in Irish history". (Newgrange - Monument to Immortality, p.103, by this author)

Fascinatingly, there is perhaps a hint in the Dindshenchas myth about its future fate at the hands of Firth and his colleagues. Is this an example of the prescience of myth?

"From that day forth the hill remains
without addition to its height;
it shall not grow greater from this time onward
till the Doom of destruction and judgement".

A Brigid's Cross left at Dowth on the Summer Solstice.

Notwithstanding the obvious Christian intrusion into this verse, with its mention of judgement, the story suggests that no more would be added to Dowth's height. Could this be taken to suggest, perhaps, that something would in fact be taken from its height? Today, there is a large crater in the cairn (see photo above), and its height is much diminished as a result of this reckless "excavation" of the 19th century, if we could dare to call it an excavation. In essence, the myth's prophetical aspect has been substantiated through real events.

And the synchronism of events, mythical and real, leads us to consider the Dindshenchas verse as not mere poetry for amusement, but as a mytho-prescient work with far-reaching vision through the long and sometimes tortuous history of this island. It is not alone in that regard, and I am especially drawn to the Lebor Gabala - the "Book of Invasions" and how that presaged a series of real invasions, as if forecasting a dire series of raids before they ever happened. But that's for another day.

Tonight at Dowth, on St. John's Eve, I took some photos of the mound against the light of the midsummer sky. It doesn't last long, but I love the midnight twilight in the Boyne Valley.

Video: An explanation of some of the astronomical and mythological symbolism of the summer solstice and the sun's unique position above Orion on this day

In this video, I explain some of the fascinating astronomical and mythical symbolism of today's Summer Solstice, and in particular I point out the very unique occurrence of the sun passing above Orion's hand - in the Milky Way - on this auspicious day.

Today is Summer Solstice, the maximum northerly declination of the sun, which occurs precisely at 10:34pm GMT (11.34pm local time) this evening. The sun's rising and setting positions in the northeast and northwest have reached a standstill and over the course of the next few days these positions will begin to retreat southwards. These are the longest days of the year.

If we could somehow blot out the sun, as happens during a total solar eclipse, we would see that the sun is presently located above the constellation Orion, in his outstretched arm. This is unique to our time. The sun's solstice and equinox positions are slowly drifting westwards through the zodiac due to a wobble of the earth's axis. The effect of this wobble is that the solstice/equinox points complete a circuit of the zodiac just once very 25,920 years.

In a few decades' time, the sun will have drifted out of Orion's hand on the summer solstice, moving gradually into Taurus (the bull constellation). It will not return to Orion's hand on Summer Solstice for almost 26,000 years. Eventually the autumn equinox sun will be in the hand of Orion, but not for another 6,500 years! And then in around 13,000 years, the winter solstice sun will be in the hand of Orion. I know it might be hard to believe, but by that time Orion will no longer be visible from Ireland. He will be too far south and only the stars of his upraised arm will be visible here.

Orion/Lugh/Cúchulainn/Fionn/Nuadu carries the sun across the sky.

There is some fascinating mythological symbolism involved in today's occurrence which I have explored before, especially in my book Island of the Setting Sun. There are several candidates for this constellation in Irish mythology. These include Lugh Lamhfada (Lugh of the Long Arm, or Long Throw), who may have been seen to control the movement of the sun, moon and planets along the ecliptic from his arm. Similarly, Lugh's son Cúchulainn, the chief character of the epic Táin Bó Cuailnge, is said to have fired a sliothar (ball used in an Irish game called hurling) through the mouth of a hound/cú (Leo), and was said to have fought best in ford water. Indeed the point where the sun sits on Summer Solstice is that point where the ecliptic intersects with the Milky Way galaxy, the river of the sky. This was Bealach Bó Finne (the Way of the White Cow), and its earthly equivalent was Abhainn Bó Finne (Boyne River). Fionn Mac Cumhaill was said to have thrown standing stones into the landscape from places like Hill of Tara and Slieve Gullion. I wonder if this myth/folk tale perhaps connects Orion with the solstices - it's possible that many standing stones have alignments towards the sun's solstices or the lunar standstills. If Fionn threw the stones, perhaps this is a reference to the alignment with such astronomical events which are seen to be controlled by this illustrious man in the sky. Fionn's name translates as "Bright Son of the Hazel" or "Starry Son of the Hazel".

"I am a light for every road and journey" - Lugh Lamhfada.

An equally illustrious character from the early Irish myths is Nuadu of the Silver Arm, King of the Tuatha Dé Danann, whose arm was chopped off in the first battle of Moytura. He had a new silver arm made for him by the Tuatha Dé Danann healer, Dian Cecht. Thus he was able to take part in the second battle of Moytura (Mag Tuired) in which the Dananns were victorious against the Fomorians. This myth inspired the famous scene in the Star Wars movies where Luke Skywalker (Orion is perhaps seen to walk through the sky) confronts the evil Darth Vader, who chops off his arm with a light sabre. Towards the end of the movie, we see that Luke is given a metal, robotic prosthesis, similar perhaps to Nuadu's new "silver" arm.

The full moon on summer solstice.

The symbolism of today's event is stark. A giant warrior/god/hunter/man carries the sun aloft across the sky, like an Olympic torch bearer, from dawn until dusk.

Tonight, as the sun sets, a full moon will rise in the southeast, in the other "crossing point" or "ford" of the sky where the ecliptic crosses the Milky Way. Full moons on the day of solstice are rare enough. The last one was in 1967. So today we are enjoying a special conjunction of astronomical events.

The moon will be accompanied in that region of the sky by the planet Mars, currently quite bright, and also the planet Saturn and the bright star of Scorpius, Antares.

See also an earlier post about Lugh carrying the sun on Summer Solstice.

Dunmoe Castle with dramatic sky

The wonderful thing about April is that it brings these glorious days that are a photographer's dream - a mix of strong sunshine and dramatic skies and towering clouds. In this case, a distant cumulonimbus cloud looms over the ruins of Dunmoe Castle in the Boyne Valley.

http://bit.ly/MI-gallery
from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/GxhmBW

North Cross, St. Mary's Abbey, Duleek, Co. Meath

Detail from the North Cross at St. Mary's Abbey in Duleek, Co. Meath. According to Peter Harbison, this is the smallest sandstone High Cross in Ireland. It dates from the 10th century.

http://bit.ly/MI-gallery
from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/FJkBMd

An April rain shower approaches Newgrange

A downpour near Newgrange, Co Meath.

http://bit.ly/MI-gallery

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/Gxn6HG

Blocc and Bluigne standing stones at Tara

Blocc and Bluigne, the two ancient standing stones in the churchyard on the Hill of Tara. Some people say they are guardian stones. Others say that they are fertility stones. One ancient text describes the inauguration of Conaire Mór as High King of Ireland. While wearing a cloak that should normally have been too big for him, he had to steer a chariot harnessed to two unbroken horses between these magical stones. Though one could normally only slide a hand sideways between them, these druid-stones parted before the king's chariot, allowing him to pass over the Lia Fáil, which then screeched out against his axle, declaring him king. (From Ireland - An Oxford Archaeological Guide by Andy Halpin and Conor Newman)

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/GyeV78

You can purchase Mythical Ireland's images on the gallery page.

Brú na Bóinne visitor centre sign

The sign, carved into rock, at the entrance to the Brú na Bóinne visitor centre, serving Newgrange and Knowth.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/GdL2qs

If you wish to buy any of my images, visit this page: http://bit.ly/MI-gallery

Sunset over the Boyne Valley, viewed from Ardmulchan

Friday's setting sun over the Boyne Valley viewed from Ardmulchan.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/Fq8z9Q

The River Boyne at Ardmulchan

I walked one day adown the Boyne,
From Domnach-Mor to Slaine;
How rich the fields on every side,
In Cattle, wood, or grain.

The river flowed in summer pride,
And on its banks of green,
How many a noble ancient home
Seemed sent'nelling the scene.

I marked the salmon springing free,
Beneath the glittering fall;
I heard the cuckoo in the glen
Repeat her welcome call.

Vigilantius, from the Irishman.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/FoBkBV
See my images also on 500px

Sunset over Dunmoe Castle, Boyne Valley

Sunset this evening, April 15th 2016, over the top of Dunmoe Castle, viewed from Ardmulchan, in the Boyne Valley.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/Gic8UZ

The Mausoleum attached to the ruins of St. Catherine's Church, Dunmoe, Co. Meath

This structure of unknown date is close to the Boyne river between Slane and Navan at Dunmoe.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/FnmmfL