Tara- Celtic LocationLocation · Landmark"Seat of the High Kings"

The Hill

Tara rises from the plains of County Meath, a low limestone ridge that commands views across nearly half of Ireland's counties on a clear day. A passage tomb called the Mound of the Hostages stands on its northern slope, older than the pyramids, its entrance aligned to catch the rising sun at Samhain. The hill was sacred before the Irish gods found it.

The medieval Dindsenchas traces the name to Tea, wife of Erimon, one of the sons of Míl who conquered Ireland from the Tuatha Dé Danann. She chose this hill as her burial place, and Erimon named it Teamhair: Tea's rampart. Five great roads converged on its summit, radiating to all corners of the island.

The Lia Fáil

The Tuatha Dé Danann brought the Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny, from their otherworldly cities in the north and set it at Tara. When the rightful king stood on it, the stone cried out, a shriek heard across the land that ended all dispute about succession.

Cú Chulainn struck the stone in anger when it failed to cry out for his protégé, and it fell silent. It did not speak again until Conn of the Hundred Battles stepped upon it, and the stone screamed so that all of Tara heard.

The Bull-Feast

When a new High King had to be chosen, the druids performed the tarbfeis. A bull was sacrificed. A man ate his fill of the flesh and drank the broth, then slept while four druids chanted over him. In his sleep, he saw the form of the one who should be king. If the dreamer lied about what he saw, he would die.

Once chosen, the king was inaugurated at Tara and given his portion at the feast. The feis Temhrach, the Feast of Tara, was held at Samhain, and the Banqueting Hall had strict seating by rank. Each grade of society had an assigned place and an assigned cut of meat. To give a man a portion below his station was an insult that could provoke bloodshed.

Court of the Tuatha Dé Danann

Before human kings ruled from Tara, the Tuatha Dé Danann held their court on the hill. Nuada of the Silver Hand was their king until he lost his arm in the First Battle of Mag Tuired against the Fir Bolg. A king must be without blemish to rule, so Nuada stepped down. Dian Cécht fashioned him a working arm of silver, and he took the throne again.

It was at Tara that Lugh Samíldánach arrived and demanded entry. The doorkeeper refused him, saying every skill was already represented inside. Lugh asked: do you have anyone who possesses all skills at once? They did not. He entered. From Tara the Tuatha Dé Danann marched to the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, and after the Milesians came and defeated them, the divine race retreated into the síd mounds while the hill passed to human kings.

Conn and the Sovereignty Goddess

In the Baile in Scáil, Conn of the Hundred Battles walks at dawn on the ramparts of Tara and is led to a phantom house that appears on the plain. Inside, a woman sits on a crystal throne beside a silver vat and a golden cup. Lugh himself stands in the hall. The woman pours ale into the golden cup for Conn and asks: "To whom shall this cup be given?" Lugh names each future king of Ireland, one by one, while she pours.

When a king was inaugurated at Tara, he received a drink from a goddess who was the land itself. If he ruled justly, cattle gave milk and crops grew tall. If he ruled badly, the land failed with him.

Cormac mac Airt

Cormac mac Airt ruled Tara in its golden age. The Fianna served under him, led by Fionn mac Cumhaill, and his judgments were so renowned that the Tecosca Cormaic preserves his instructions on governance and daily conduct. He was said to have built the greatest structures on the hill: a house for women, a star-observatory, the great hall.

Then he lost an eye. The same law that had deposed Nuada deposed Cormac: a blemished king could not rule from Tara. He stepped down.

Ruadán's Curse

The traditional date for Tara's end as a royal center is 565 CE. King Diarmait mac Cerbaill's soldiers dragged a fugitive from the protection of Saint Ruadán of Lorrha. Ruadán came to Tara with other clerics and cursed the hill. No king, he declared, would rule from it again. None did.