Boyne Valley and Newgrange

Mary Malone is an archeologist by education and a tour operator by profession and, boy, is she good. Along our drive we learned about the 7000 years of Irish history including the Vikings, the arrival of Christianity, Celtic history, the major emigrations, gaining independence from Britain, and the development as a center for technology.

Our first stop was the Hill at Tara and its church and church yard.

To access the grounds we had to squeeze through a narrow gap in the stone wall.

Then we went to Bru na Boinne or New Grange, site of a 5500 year old passage tomb of the Neolithic period. Excavated and studied by Professor M. J. O’Kelly, the tomb is little changed from when it was first built (it has lighting inside now). The outside is covered with white granite and river stones.

The interior is made of slabs of granite weighing several tons with river rock filling in the spaces. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed inside.

It is considered the first astronomical observatory because its builders aligned the entrance so that at the sunrise at the winter solstice the Sun casts a beam of light ninety feet into the chamber. Considering the age of the structure, we marveled at this construction considering the total lack of technology available. This chamber is large enough to hold thirty people.

Within the chamber are spiral carvings along the walls, stone basins in which were found bones and artifacts and 200-year-old graffiti. The walls angle up ten meters to a large capstone. It is so well constructed that neither rain nor runoff has penetrated the tomb. The tomb is one of three major tombs in County Meath. So impressed were we that we know the visit to this tomb will be a highlight of our time in Ireland.

We had been told that one doesn’t visit Ireland for the food. Well that is just wrong. We had a delicious lunch at New Grange and a wonderful dinner at Queen Maebh’s. Starting with an aromatic hot spiced wine, we enjoyed huge bowls of soup, chowder for the men and vegetable for the ladies. That would have been meal enough but between us we also had corned beef and cabbage, beef casserole, and lamb stew.

We wandered around walking off dinner. We did such a good job that we rewarded ourselves with ice cream along a street already lit up with Christmas lights.