To the left is ‘An Forradh’ – the King’s Seat. It probably contained a circular building and a footbridge across the ramparts. To the right is ‘Teach Cormaic’ – Cormac’s House. This had a rectangular building and entrance to the east. It is named after the 3rd century king, Cormac MacAirt, but may have an early medieval date. The bank connecting the Forradh and Teach Cormaic has been simplified in this drawing for clarity. Further to the east is the main entrance to the the king’s enclosure, ‘Ráith na Ríg’. This entire enclosure was surrounded by a 7m wide ditch and enclosing bank; in later times a stout palisade wall was also added. The coronation stone, ‘Lia Fáil’, is in its approximate original location to the north of the mound ‘Duma na nGiall’. To the extreme north is ‘Ráith na Senad’, which has 4 enclosing banks and produced evidence of domestic use. This was built before Teach Cormaic and may have been where the king originally stayed when present at Tara.
A lot has been written about Tara and the monuments that dot the hilltop, and most of us are aware of its role as the pre-eminent ‘royal’ site in Ireland; however, for much of its history Tara actually functioned as an ancient cemetery and place of worship. The vast majority of what remains are the remnants of burial mounds and tombs which were built over the course of millennia for the powerful and elite. It wasn’t until the arrival of the Celts in the Iron Age that the site took on a much more potent persona as a place of kingship and later as the symbolic capital of Ireland.
In Irish mythology, Sláine mac Dela, king of the Fir Bolg and from whom the village of Slane takes its name, is noted as being the first high king, and according to the Book of Invasions chose Tara as Ireland’s capital. The Fir Bolg were later defeated by the Tuatha Dé Danann, and they by the Milesians, with each in turn claiming Tara as their capital. After falling from power, the Fir Bolg became involved in a rebellion at Moybologue, which, if the origin story is to be believed, ultimately led to creation of the Province of Midhe (Meath). This is not the only local connection to the High Kingship of Ireland, though. Cormac MacAirt, arguably the most famous of the semi-mythical high kings, is said to have lived in Kells prior to commencing his reign and was accompanied on his journey there by the Fir Cúl,1 who later settled at Kilmainhamwood.
During the late Iron Age the Uí Neill seized control of large parts of Ulster and the midlands and divided them into a number of kingdoms. Tara was situated within the Kingdom of Brega – but, the kings of Brega did not always directly control Tara. The most powerful of the Uí Neill families, either north or south, could claim ownership of the mensal lands of Tara and assume the title of ‘High King’ – provided they were strong enough. This system of an alternating kingship of Tara between the various branches of the Uí Neill lasted up to the 11th century.2
As with the other royal capitals Tara wasn’t a permanent residence nor a military installation, its role was political and ceremonial. There is some evidence of habitation at the Rath of the Synods, but generally speaking the high king would have lived in his local community, in whatever part of Ireland that was, and only came to Tara at certain times of the year for royal duties. Rosnaree, near Slane, is mentioned as an earlier residence of kings of Tara, as is Kells.3
Even though Tara didn’t function as a military fortification, over the centuries the hilltop and the surrounding landscape in particular took on a much more defensive nature.4 Tara is encircled by numerous strategically placed ringforts – three of which control access to the Gabhra valley. There are also the remains of huge linear embankments between Riverstown and Ringlestown which would have prevented incursion from the west and north.5 These are similar in appearance the huge Black Pig’s Dyke earthwork between Connacht and Ulster.
On the hill itself, the addition of a palisade wall to Rath na Rí, which was placed inside a massive ditch 7m wide with an outer bank, arguably reverses its function from a ceremonial to defensive one,6 as does the addition of Rath Laoghaire to the south with its closely set double banks. Other high status and well defended settlements were also built nearby, most notably at Baronstown, Roestown, Dowdstown and Castlefarm.7, 8
As with the rest of the royal capitals which were associated with the old pagan traditions, Tara waned in importance with the coming of Christianity and was largely abandoned by the 6th century. It remained in use periodically until the death of Malachy 2nd in AD1022, but at this stage ‘King of Tara’ was purely a symbolic title. After the death of Malachy, control of Tara appears to be of less interest to the competing provincial kings, who vied for supremacy over Dublin and the other large towns and cities.
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References
- ‘Geneamuin Chormaic’, Available from UCC Irish Sagas Online, https://iso.ucc.ie (July 15. 2021)
- Seán Duffy, Atlas of Irish History (Dublin, 1997), p. 26
- Geraldine Stout, Newgrange and the Bend of the Boyne (Cork, 2002), pp. 70-73
- Edel Bhreatnach, Ireland in the Medieval World AD400-1000 (Dublin, 2014), p. 59
- Edel Bhreathnach, Conor Newman, and Joseph Fenwick, ‘The Impact of the Proposed M3 Motorway on Tara and its Cultural Landscape’ in Archaeological Institute of America Journal (April. 2004), pp. 2-3
- Conor Newman, Tara: An Archaeological Survey. Discovery Programme Monographs 2 (Dublin, 1997), p. 174
- Conor Newman, The sacral landscape of Tara: a preliminary exploration (Dublin, 2011), p. 35
- Jonathan Kinsella, ‘New discoveries and fresh insights: researching the early medieval archaeology of the M3 in County Meath‘ in J. O’Sullivan and M. Stanley (eds) Roads, Rediscovery and Research: Proceeding of a Public Seminar on Archaeological Discoveries on National Road Schemes, August 2007 – Archaeology and the National Roads Authority Monograph No. 5 (Dublin, 2007), pp. 95-102