Pictures of Ireland

Sligo and Armagh

These pictures were shot in may of 2004, just as spring time is arriving in Ireland. I was hill-climbing and country walking with 'mien freundin' Anja, in Sligo, one of my favourite counties in Ireland. The concentration of ancient sites is greater here than almost anywhere else in Europe. A week later I was in Belfast again, and in Armagh. Although I shot almost 200 photos in total, I surely can't put them all up on the web. So here is a selection of nine good ones.

This is the mountain of Ben Bulben, as seen from the north-west side, on the road towards Donegal. On the top of this hill, the mythical hero Dairmud met his death. He was injured by a wild boar, and his former commander Fionn MacCumhall, jealous of his love for Grainne, refused to bring him healing water from the nearby Well of Healing (Heapstown Cairn). Ben Bulben is also famous for the poetry William Butler Yeats wrote for it. The Poet is buried in a churchyard in Drumcliff, north of Sligo town and near the head of the mountain.

The following day was much cloudier, as we set out to climb Ben Bulben. This is a neolithic portal tomb that we found along the way. As you can see in this photo, it is not very big. We found this in a small ring fort on a small ledge of land, just off a country road. We would never have found it if not for the "Discovery Series" maps!

The map listed this feature as a "Celtic Sweat Lodge". It looks quite impressive from this distance. Up close, its true shape is easier to discern: oval shaped, and pointed at one end, like a spear-head. Anja determined with a dousing pendulum that underground streams ran all around it. A pleasant place to rest, and take in the view of mighty Ben Bulben.

About half way up the side of Ben Bulben, Anja discovered this flat stone on the ground with these fossils embedded in them. If anyone reading this page can tell me what they are, I would be grateful.

This is the view of the hill of Knock Na Rae, as seen from the ocean-facing west side, near the tourist village of Strand Hill. On the top of this hill is a 2,500 year old chambered cairn said to be the final resting place of Maeve of Cruachan.

And here is the chambered cairn on the top of Knock Na Rae. This cairn is very large: at least twice as tall as I am, and at least 40 or 50 feet in diameter. It is a chambered mound but no one really knows where the entrance is. This view of the west side has what appears to be a collapsed-in entrance, but this may be due to the erosion of thousands of visitors each year climbing to the top of the mound. If it is the entrance, it looks aligned to receive the morning sunrise on the Equinoxes of the year, like several chambered mounds in the midlands.

Here is the view of Sligo Bay and Ben Bulben as seen from the top of Knock Na Rae. Knock Na Rae is one of my favourite places in all of Ireland. One is bordered on three sides by water: Sligo Bay to the north, Ballysadare bay to the south, and the Atlantic to the west. Because of the shape of the land, one is also bordered on three sides by high hills and mountains.

About a fortnight later I went to Belfast on a research trip. While there, a friend brought me to Emain Macha: the site of the ancient royal center of Ulster, the home of King Conchobor Mac Nessa, Cu Chullain, my namesake Cathbad the Druid, and others. I had wanted to visit this site for at least twenty years. I had high expectations, and on this sunny, clear and beautiful day they were well fulfilled. This image shows the bank and ditch which surrounds the whole fort.

Inside the larger bank and ditch are two banked enclosures; this enclosure contains a large mound. This mound was constructed of five concentric rings of large oak posts, with one enormous carved post in the centre. Then the whole thing was filled with limestone blocks, burned, and covered over with sods, for reasons that continue to befuddle archaeologists. But it is clear to them that this is a sacred site; the central post functioning like an "axis mundi" and the platform on the top of the mound serving to join earth and sky. These two trees on the north-east side give the extraordinary appearance of a gateway.

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(c) 2004 by B. Cathbad Myers. All rights reserved.

	This is the mountain of Ben Bulben, as seen from the north-west side, on the road towards Donegal. On the top of this hill, the mythical hero Dairmud met his death. He was injured by a wild boar, and his former commander Fionn MacCumhall, jealous of his love for Grainne, refused to bring him healing water from the nearby Well of Healing (Heapstown Cairn). Ben Bulben is also famous for the poetry William Butler Yeats wrote for it. The Poet is buried in a churchyard in Drumcliff, north of Sligo town and near the head of the mountain.
	The following day was much cloudier, as we set out to climb Ben Bulben. This is a neolithic portal tomb that we found along the way. As you can see in this photo, it is not very big. We found this in a small ring fort on a small ledge of land, just off a country road. We would never have found it if not for the "Discovery Series" maps!
	The map listed this feature as a "Celtic Sweat Lodge". It looks quite impressive from this distance. Up close, its true shape is easier to discern: oval shaped, and pointed at one end, like a spear-head. Anja determined with a dousing pendulum that underground streams ran all around it. A pleasant place to rest, and take in the view of mighty Ben Bulben.
	About half way up the side of Ben Bulben, Anja discovered this flat stone on the ground with these fossils embedded in them. If anyone reading this page can tell me what they are, I would be grateful.
	This is the view of the hill of Knock Na Rae, as seen from the ocean-facing west side, near the tourist village of Strand Hill. On the top of this hill is a 2,500 year old chambered cairn said to be the final resting place of Maeve of Cruachan.
	And here is the chambered cairn on the top of Knock Na Rae. This cairn is very large: at least twice as tall as I am, and at least 40 or 50 feet in diameter. It is a chambered mound but no one really knows where the entrance is. This view of the west side has what appears to be a collapsed-in entrance, but this may be due to the erosion of thousands of visitors each year climbing to the top of the mound. If it is the entrance, it looks aligned to receive the morning sunrise on the Equinoxes of the year, like several chambered mounds in the midlands.
	Here is the view of Sligo Bay and Ben Bulben as seen from the top of Knock Na Rae. Knock Na Rae is one of my favourite places in all of Ireland. One is bordered on three sides by water: Sligo Bay to the north, Ballysadare bay to the south, and the Atlantic to the west. Because of the shape of the land, one is also bordered on three sides by high hills and mountains.
	About a fortnight later I went to Belfast on a research trip. While there, a friend brought me to Emain Macha: the site of the ancient royal center of Ulster, the home of King Conchobor Mac Nessa, Cu Chullain, my namesake Cathbad the Druid, and others. I had wanted to visit this site for at least twenty years. I had high expectations, and on this sunny, clear and beautiful day they were well fulfilled. This image shows the bank and ditch which surrounds the whole fort.
	Inside the larger bank and ditch are two banked enclosures; this enclosure contains a large mound. This mound was constructed of five concentric rings of large oak posts, with one enormous carved post in the centre. Then the whole thing was filled with limestone blocks, burned, and covered over with sods, for reasons that continue to befuddle archaeologists. But it is clear to them that this is a sacred site; the central post functioning like an "axis mundi" and the platform on the top of the mound serving to join earth and sky. These two trees on the north-east side give the extraordinary appearance of a gateway.