We left out of Westport on Wednesday morning to head to the east to visit the ancient valley area known as
Brú na Bóinne - the "Palace of the Boyne River."
Following is some information from the World Heritage Ireland internet site:
Brú na Bóinne, which means the ‘palace’ or the ‘mansion’ of the Boyne, refers to the area within the bend of the River Boyne which contains one of the world’s most important prehistoric landscapes. It is located close to the east coast of Ireland approximately 40 km north of Dublin city, about 8km west of the medieval town of Drogheda and about 5km east of the village of Slane.
The archaeological landscape within Brú na Bóinne is dominated by the three well-known large passage tombs, Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth, built some 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic or Late Stone Age. An additional ninety monuments have been recorded in the area giving rise to one of the most significant archaeological complexes in terms of scale and density of monuments and the material evidence that accompanies them. The Brú na Bóinne tombs, in particular Knowth, contain the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Western Europe.
The ‘Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne’ was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993 having been judged to have met three of the six criteria for cultural heritage of outstanding universal value. The three criteria were:
- representing a masterpiece of human creative genius,
- bearing a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or which has disappeared,
- being an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stage(s) in human history.
The core area of the World Heritage Site comprises approximately 780 hectares contained within the bend of the River Boyne. A buffer zone, comprising approximately 2,500 hectares extends to the River Mattock in the north and includes the River Boyne itself to the south and extends to the ridgeline of an escarpment that overlooks the core area. The boundaries of the buffer zone were set having taken into account views into and out of the core area
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| Tomb at Knowth |
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| Smaller peripheral tombs |
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| Neolithic Art |
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| Main passage tomb at Knowth |
Newgrange and Knowth pre-date the Great Pyramids of Giza by five hundred years and Stonehenge by a thousand. A great source of pride to the Irish.
We stayed, once again, at the wonderful Newgrange Hotel in the town of Navan. Upon rising, we headed into Dublin to spend Thursday and Friday, before we return to Westport on Saturday. Wouldn't dream of missing the terrific Dixieland jazz at McGing's pub. The bookends of our time in Westport - Bluegrass and Dixieland jazz - great stuff!
In Dublin, we took the hop on/hop off bus to re-familiarize ourselves with the city. We only hopped off at Trinity College Dublin to see the Book of Kells, and at St. Patrick's Cathedral, whose former dean (pastor) was Jonathan Swift. As an added bonus, we stumbled upon students and their families coming out from the graduation ceremony at Trinity for the Colleges of Arts and Sciences - undergraduate and graduate students alike. Goodness, they were from every country on earth and you could just sense that these are young people who will have impact all around the globe - the best and brightest young people from their many countries. It was inspiring.
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| Checking in at the Northstar Hotel Dublin |
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| Where you want to stay - the very elegant Shelbourne Hotel on St. Stephen's Green |
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| In front of Dublin Castle - still celebrating the referendum |
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| The River Liffey, which divides Dublin north and south |
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Trinity College - the student on the right has received a Masters Degree in Economics
and has accepted a position with a major commodities trading firm in London |
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| A happy little booklover in Trinity College's "Long Room" library |
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| The burger .... |
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| .... has met its match. |
Tomorrow we plan to visit some very important sites in the history of Irish independence - the GPO (the General Post Office), Kilmainham Gaol, and Glasnevin Cemetery. Ireland will celebrate 100 years of freedom from Great Britain's rule in 2016 - an immensely important anniversary indeed.
