This field trip offers students the opportunity to explore the most iconic place in Ireland, the Hill of Tara, which has a wealth of associated archaeology, history, myth and literature. The Hill of Tara is a low eminence (197m [646 ft]) with commanding views over the central midlands of Ireland. The archaeological complex on the hilltop includes a small Neolithic passage tomb, impressive Bronze Age burial monuments, Neolithic and Iron Age religious sanctuaries, and the great so-called ‘Royal’ enclosure (Rath na Ríg: the ‘Fort of the Kings’) and the ‘Banqueting Hall’. In the early medieval period scholars gave names and ascribed histories to the various monuments at Tara (which would have looked exactly as they do now): these ancestral figures, drawn from myth and legend, included Niall, Cormac MacAirt, Laoghaire (reputedly the king of Tara at the time of St. Patrick), Maeve (the legendary and infamous queen of Connacht) and Grainne. There was a revival of interest in Tara as part of the growth of romantic nationalism in the 19th century and this attracted attention in the 1798 and 1916 risings against British rule as well as providing the venue of a ‘Monster Meeting’ (for ‘Home Rule’) held by Daniel O’Connell in 1943.
Limited number of spaces available- please contact irish.heritagecentre@mu.ie to book a place or Mairead in Room 20, Arts Block (Cost 10 euro).