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 great deal has been written about Tara and the remarkable monuments that crown the hill. Most people are familiar with its reputation as Ireland’s foremost royal site, yet this was only one phase in its long history. The earliest activity at Tara centred on ceremonial monuments, burial mounds and ritual enclosures, many of which were constructed over the course of several millennia for individuals of high status. By the Iron Age, as Celtic language and culture came to dominate Ireland, Tara had assumed a new political significance as a centre of kingship and would later become the symbolic capital of Ireland.
According to medieval Irish tradition, Sláine mac Dela, king of the Fir Bolg and the legendary figure from whom the village of Slane takes its name, was the first High King of Ireland. The Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions) records that he chose Tara as his royal seat. The Fir Bolg were later defeated by the Tuatha Dé Danann, who in turn were overcome by the Milesians, with each successive people claiming Tara as their capital. These accounts belong to Ireland’s rich mythological tradition rather than its recorded history, but they demonstrate the enduring importance attached to Tara by medieval writers.
Local tradition also preserves other connections with the High Kingship. Cormac mac Airt, perhaps the best known of the semi-legendary High Kings, is said to have lived at Kells before beginning his reign at Tara. According to the Geneamuin Chormaic, he was accompanied by the Fir Cúl,1 who later settled at Kilmainhamwood. Medieval tradition likewise associates the Fir Bolg with a rebellion at Moybologue which ultimately resulted in the creation of the Province of Midhe (Meath), although this story, too, belongs to the legendary rather than historical record.
During the later Iron Age and early historic period, the Uí Neill established themselves as the dominant power across much of Ulster and the Midlands. Tara lay within the Kingdom of Brega, although it was not necessarily controlled directly by the kings of Brega. Instead, the most powerful branches of the northern or southern Uí Néill could claim the royal estate of Tara and assume the title of High King, provided they possessed sufficient political and military strength to maintain it. This pattern of alternating dominance between different branches of the dynasty continued until the eleventh century.2
Like the other royal centres of early Ireland, Tara was not a permanent royal residence or military stronghold. Its primary function was ceremonial and political. Although there is evidence for occupation at the Rath of the Synods, the High King would normally have resided within his own kingdom and travelled to Tara only for assemblies, inaugurations and other important ceremonial occasions. Early traditions also associate the kings of Tara with residences at Rosnaree, near Slane, and at Kells.3
Although 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 Numerous ringforts occupy strategically important positions around the hill, including three which overlook approaches through the Gabhra Valley. Extensive linear embankments between Riverstown and Ringlestown may also have served to control movement across the landscape5 and are comparable in appearance to the great Black Pig’s Dyke earthworks farther north.
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 Máel Sechnaill II in AD1022, but at this stage ‘King of Tara’ was purely a symbolic title. After the death of Máel Sechnaill, 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