Tara and Loughcrew aligned for Lughnasadh sunset?

Back in February of this year, at Imbolc, myself, Ken Williams and Lar Dooley witnessed the sunrise shining into the ancient passageway of Cairn U at Carnbane East, Loughcrew. That day, I noticed that when I was crouched in the chamber of Cairn U, the Hill of Tara was visible through the entrance of the passage. Based on that observation, I figured that a viewer on the Hill of Tara might see the sun setting over the hills of Loughcrew at Bealtaine (May) and Lughnasadh (August).

The Loughcrew Hills viewed from Duma na nGiall, Hill of Tara, with labels.

I was unable to get to Tara at Bealtaine, so I was determined to go there for Lughnasadh to see if I was right. This evening, standing on top of Duma na nGiall (Mound of the Hostages) at the Hill of Tara, I watched the sun get lower and lower in the western sky with my son, Finn. Above is a photo showing the hills as they appear from atop the Mound of the Hostages. It looked like it was heading for Loughcrew, but I couldn't be sure. So I watched and waited.

The sun setting over Cairn D, Carnbane West, and Carrigbrack, as viewed from Duma na nGiall.

And sure enough, as the sun set, it did so over Carnbane West and Carrigbrack, which appear almost as one hill as viewed from Tara. It was a beautiful sunset, and as the sun went down there was a lovely sun pillar (a vertical shaft of light extending upwards from the sun) reaching into the sky.

The sun pillar visible in the sky as the sun sets behind the hills of Loughcrew viewed from Tara.

So it appears that Duma na nGiall, the oldest monument on the Hill of Tara which is thought to date to the late Neolithic, around 5,000 years ago, is aligned with Loughcrew for (a) sunrise on Samhain/Imbolc viewed from Cairn U Loughcrew towards Tara; and (b) Bealtine/Lughnasadh sunset viewed from Tara towards Loughcrew.

The actual date of Lughnasadh this year was (I believe) August 7th, so the sun has moved a little bit to the south (left) since then. And I'm not sure how much the sun's position has changed at Lughnasadh from where it was 5,000 years ago. But it's would certainly appear that there is an alignment. Whether it was intended is another question entirely. But this is just one of many examples of alignments of sites over long distances. Seeing Tara framed by the ancient stones of Cairn U at Loughcrew in the cold dawn of Imbolc six months ago certainly was very fascinating to me. "This is hardly all coincidental," I said to myself. Indeed it might not be, but we may never know whether it was intended by the builders. All we can do now is watch and wonder.

The author atop Duma na nGiall watching the sunset over Loughcrew tonight. Picture: Finn Murphy.

Kerbstone 67 at Newgrange

This is kerbstone number 67 at Newgrange. It is one of only three highly-decorated stones - there are 99 kerbs in total. This is in stark contrast to Knowth, where there are many very ornately decorated slabs in a kerb of 127 stones. Most of the kerbs at Newgrange are composed of a stone called greywacke (also called green grit) and were sourced, according to archaeologists and geologists, at Clogherhead on the Co. Louth coast, some 20km journey by river and sea.

PS: The triple spiral partly visible on the very bottom right of the stone is a copyright watermark added to the image by me!

Slí Bhríde Celtic Way pilgrimage to be launched

I'm very excited about the forthcoming launch of 'Slí Bhríde' - Brigid's Way - a Celtic Pilgrimage route based on an alignment of prehistoric and eminent sites and monuments linking the two places most strongly associated with Brigid - the Saint and the Goddess - Faughart and Kildare.

An image of the Slí Bhríde from Google
Earth showing the sites along the alignment.

The new pilgrim route is inspired by an alignment which was initially discovered a decade ago when Richard Moore and I found that the Hill of Tara, the Hill of Slane and the Mount Oriel barrow cluster were perfectly aligned. We furthermore realised that, at the moment Saint Patrick lit the Paschal Fire, at dusk on March 26th 433AD, an incredible cosmic event was happening in the sky over Slane. With the eyes of the High King, Laoghaire, and his subjects drawn from Tara towards Slane, Patrick lit a huge fire just as the cross-shaped constellation Cygnus was rising over Slane, with the centre star of the cross, today called Sadr, directly in line with the fire.

The cosmic symbolism of that moment was incredible. The ancient and sacred cross of old Ireland, present in Newgrange and other prehistoric sites, was being replaced with a new cross, the cross of the new religion, brought from distant lands.

But the alignment must have been prehistoric and pre-dated Patrick possibly by three millennia or more. The Hill of Tara is at least Bronze Age in date with one remaining monument, the Mound of the Hostages, probably dating from the Neolithic. The motte on the Hill of Slane is probably at least Bronze Age in origin, if in fact it was not merely refashioned by the Normans from the remains of a Stone Age passage-tomb. The barrows on Oriel are also likely to date from the Bronze Age.

In 2008, I discovered something even more interesting. When you continue the line (in fact it is an arc, which follows the curvature of the earth) north and south, it leads to two places directly associated with Brigid - Faughart, her birthplace, and The Curragh in Kildare, where she grazed her cattle and beside which she established her monastery. This discovery was detailed in the second edition of 'Island of the Setting Sun - In Search of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers', published in 2008.

The alignment precisely intersects a number of monuments,
including this motte at Thurstianstown, near Beauparc.

The precision of the alignment is astonishing. A line from the sacred Well of Brigid on the hill of Faughart disects the barrows on Mount Oriel, passes directly through the motte on Slane, directly through the Rath of the Kings on Tara, and also neatly intersects a large motte at Thurstianstown (Beaparc, Co. Meath), and also a moated site on Réaltoge, a hill meaning "star".

Now, Dolores Whelan and Karen Ward have been following that alignment, and have discovered that there once was a Slí Bhríde, a pilgrim route of Brigid, which probably ran from Faughart towards Kildare. They are launching a modern 'Slí Bhríde', celebrating Brigid in all her forms, since she was also a prehistoric goddess. This is very much a Celtic pilgrim route.

The Slí Bhríde will be launched on Saturday, February 2nd, at 1.30pm in the Louth County Museum, Jocelyn Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth, by Dolores Whelan, Karen Ward, Anthony Murphy and Sally Cox.

See more about the festival celebrating Brigid of Faughart at Imbolc on Dolores Whelan's website.