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Royal Residences.—Among the royal residences mentioned in early Irish records, the Hill of Tara, in County Meath, is the most celebrated. From the earliest period of which we have even traditional history, down to the middle of the sixth century, it appears to have been a chief seat of the Irish kings. Here, every third year, was held the great national convention called the ‘Feis of Teamhair.’ Shortly after the death of Dermot, the son of Fergus, in the year 563, the place was deserted, in consequence, according to the Annals of Clonmacnoise, of a curse pronounced by St. Ruadan, or Roadanus, of Lorrha, against that king and his palace. After thirteen centuries of decay and neglect, the chief monuments for which the hill was at any time remarkable are still to be traced. They consist, for the most part, of circular or oval enclosures and mounds, within, or upon which, the principal dwellings of the ancient royal seat were situated. The accompanying Plan of Tara is adapted from the Ordnance Survey map, upon which the names were laid down by Petrie and O’Donovan, after a careful study of some ancient Irish records. In these were found most minute descriptions, with occasional plans of the various monuments as they existed previous to the twelfth century.
Walker & Boutall sc.
Plan of Tara.
The Forradh, Tara.
The rath called Rath na Riogh, or Cathair Crofinn, appears originally to have been the most important work upon the hill, and, according to tradition, the oldest. It is of an oval form, and measures in length from north to south 853 feet. The ditch is 4 feet deep; the rampart, greatly reduced, is but 6 feet high, and appears in part to have been constructed of stone. Within its enclosure are the ruins of the Forradh, or ‘Place of meeting.’ The mound of the Forradh is of considerable height, flat on the top, and encircled by two lines of earth having a ditch between them; its greatest diameter is 296 feet, and across the inner circle 88 feet. Set in its centre, as already stated, is a very remarkable pillar-stone, supposed to be the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny (see [p. 8]).
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Teach Cormaic, lying to the south-east of the Forradh, to which it is joined by a common parapet, may be described as a double enclosure, the rings of which upon the western side become connected. Its diameter is about 140 feet. To the north of these and within the enclosure is a small mound called Dumha na nGiall, the ‘Mound of the hostages,’ a characteristic example of its class.