The Hill of Tara is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. According to tradition, it was the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland, and it also appears in Irish mythology. Tara consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—from the Neolithic to the Iron Age—including a passage tomb (the “Mound of the Hostages“), burial mounds, round enclosures, a standing stone (believed to be the Lia Fáil or “Stone of Destiny”), and a ceremonial avenue. There is also a church and graveyard on the hill. Tara is part of a larger ancient landscape and Tara itself is a protected national monument under the care of The Office of Public Works, an agency of the Irish Government.
The Five Roads of Tara
According to legend, five ancient roads or slighe meet at Tara, linking it with all the provinces of Ireland. The earliest reference to the five roads of Tara was in the tale Togail Bruidne Da Derga (The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hall).
The five roads are said to be:
- Slighe Assail, which went west towards Lough Owel, then to Rathcroghan.
- Slighe Midluachra, which went to Slane, then to Navan Fort, ending at Dunseverick.
- Slighe Cualann, which went through Dublin and through the old district of Cualann towards Waterford.
- Slighe Dala, which went towards and through Ossory.
- Slighe Mhór (‘Great Highway’), which roughly followed the Esker Riada to County Galway.
