In Ancient times the entrance to the Royal City of Tara was much different than it is today. But I shall get to that later in the week. If you visit this fantastic place now, you will enter via a gate by the small roadside car park. One of the first sites that you will come across is a big statue of the man known as St. Patrick. Many of you might know by now that I would not be a big fan of the man that is now known as the patron saint of Ireland. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-religion, I reckon to each their own as long as they don’t force their beliefs on others. So I guess that’s one of the reasons I have a huge dislike for this character. Not only is he not even a saint, but he was a rather nasty piece of work to boot. And to have a great big statue of him planted on top of Irelands Royal city is just one of many insults in my mind. There are countless tales of his disrespectful and nasty actions towards the people of Ireland, far too many to go into here. And yet we call him a saint? It’s actually a fact, that Patrick was never beatified by the Vatican, and so therefore is not an actual Saint. How he became to be known as a saint is actually down to a translation error. There is no word for saint in the Irish language. As Patrick was said to have been known as a man of God, his Gaelic followers called him Naomh, which means holy and not saint. And so some not to clever person over the years messed up the translation and everyone has followed along with the lie ever since. If you look at the position of Patrick’s statue, you will notice that he has his back turned to Tara? Which I see as one final insult to both the sacred site of Tara and the Irish people. I have a small ritual which I perform every time I visit Tara. When I reach Patrick, I turn my back to him. Now I’m not showing any disrespect towards his religion, just evening things up a little. I guess it makes me feel a little less angry and I get to enjoy my time better in the royal city.
Just beyond the statue lies the aptly named church of St. Patrick, which has now been converted into a visitor center. The current church building and graveyard are said to date back to 1822 which aint that old, but it would seem that there were two previous churches on this very site. The first one was built back in the 13th century. The second was said to have been much larger and part of this churches outer wall can be seen near the top of the steps leading out towards the Ráth of the Synods. Sadly some of this Ráth has been encroached on by the churchyard boundary wall. Whilst the earliest grave stone dates from the 17th century there are signs of earlier burials taking place. Inside the church there is a memorial stone of the local Dillan family which is dated 1595. In 1991 the church was taken over by the OPW (Office of Public Works) and deconsecrated. Although once a year it reverts back into use as a church for a once of mass on St. Patricks Day. Today the church serves as a visitor center, with audio/visual presentations for visitors during the Tourist season. If you have never been to Tara before it might be worth a look at to get a feel for the history of the place and it only costs a few euro, but I always find my time better spent exploring the vast expanse of this magical place. There will be more about Tara and even Patricks connection to Tara over the coming days and week so keep in touch.
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Enjoyed the pics and the narrative, Ed; especially the spot-on comments about ‘saint’ Patrick.
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Thanks Jack, hope I didnt rant too much. I much rather give an unbiased view of things as much as possible when it comes to history, especially when their is a religious factor envolved. But the this particular character really annoys me 😦 Just wait till I get to the Hill of Slane where it all ties in 🙂
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I enjoyed the honesty, Ed, and didn’t feel it was a rant at all. Of course, I share your opinion of the man. A “nasty piece of work’ doesn’t seem to quite capture his evil nature and actions. No saint that one. I put him on the same vile list as the butcher, Oliver Cromwell.
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I agree completley Jack, but I always try to be somewhat diplomatic in these things. Its amazing how offended people get over their beliefs and what others say.
Please dont get me started on ould Ollie, We could be here for months bitchin his rotten name…….
Thanks again my friend 🙂
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Lol! You guys have really made me chuckle! Wish you had carried this conversation on longer so I could join in!
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Well here is your chance, lets do it 🙂
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Nice photos as ever Ed. It is amazing though, how history has a habit of changing the story to how it see’s fit and not to how it happened. I think well done you for taking your stand to defend yourself and your country against someone/something you do not believe in.
Keep being pure of heart and you will never go wrong.
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Thank you my firend, Hopefully I did not rant on too much 🙂
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Not enough in my mind. We should all have a passion and we should share that passion. If people do not like it they can do what you said as you don’t force your opinions or beliefs on others.
Feck ’em with a big stick is what I say!
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LMAO, that big stick can get one into all sorts of trouble, I try my best to leave it at home 🙂
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Understandable.
Just feck ’em all then!
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I’m looking forward to your next posts about Tara. It gives me a chance to re-live our visit to it last October/November through your pictures and words.
Thanks again for your help planning for that trip! 🙂
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My pleasure Anne, Glad you liked it 🙂
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I always love your photos, and this piece was no different…except for the fact that your writing was so good it actually eclipsed your photography. Can’t wait for the next episode.
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OMG, thank you so much, I never really rate my writing, its just a bit of commentery for the images. Now I have to try harder 🙂
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Ed, I enjoyed this tour as I always do. It was brightened by your comments about St Patrick, which made me chuckle. I have never heard anyone Irish being so ‘against’ him before, so it was very refreshing.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Pete, appologies for the rant, Ill be shatring some more of the associated history with Tara shortly 🙂
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No need to apologise, I enjoyed it. My birthday is March 16th. I was born at around 10 pm. Two hours and one minute later, and this blog would be called beetleypatrick!
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LMAO, I still celebrate paddys day, which is about being Irish more than anything else. I aways loved history and what gets me is that they dont teach you the truth in schools. I was in my teens before I started to stumble on little unknown facts.
And now I hunt them down 🙂
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You know the old saying Ed, ‘The victors write the history’. Truth has always been at a premium mate!
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Never a truer word said 🙂
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Great stuff Ed. I always think the introduction of Christianity wiped away a lot of culture. It contributed to a lot of great architecture and art, and the old traditions would have come under pressure anyway I suppose, but I’m no fan of religion and it would have been interesting if Patrick had never made it to Ireland.
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I think we may be cut from the same cloth mate. How knows what might have happened, but then thats why we call it history. 🙂
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Interesting, particularly you getting in a paddy about St Paddy!
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LOL, when the opportunity rises 🙂
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Another great post, Ed! Thanks for setting the record straight about Patrick, I feel much the same about him. Unfortunately, Christianity around the world has been founded on the shoulders of many more men just like him. I feel sometimes that religion has nothing to do with religion but is all about power. Anyway, lovely pics, your little ritual made me smile! Can’t wait to see the rest of your posts. I haven’t been to Tara for quite a while even though it’s not so far from me, because its always so crowded with tourists and loud-voiced tour guides.
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Yep to each their own, but each and every religion throughout the ages has had to suffer human corruption. As an idea most religions are good, but sadly when you factor in the human element, things enevitable get messed up. And I say that for all faiths be they christian, pagan or whatever. Samhain is always a good time. The tourists dont hang around after dark, and thats when the magic happens 🙂
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I’ll remember that! Great idea… If you’re brave enough!
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Done it before,would do it again in a heartbeat. Its a totaly different athmosphere Ali. You should try it, even in a small group for safety. A few candle lanterns and a good flash of something hot.
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Thanks Ed, may have to follow your advice and give it a go!
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Oh do, its like stepping into another world, back in the days of a certain heritage goup I went along to some full moon ceremonies on Tara. Just a small bunch of people and a portable fire.
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Loughcrew might be interesting…
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You know what, I have only been there once and the few cairns we found were all locked up. I would love to explore them all 🙂
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On the summer one is opened and staffed foc by the opw. Any other time you can get the key! But the best cairn, the one which has a standing stone inside the cairn is never open to the public. Grrrrrrrr!
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My word, Ed, you’ll need three Hail Marys and an Our Father said for you after that post about Patrick. 😉 Excellent writing, I really enjoyed it.
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LOL, thanks Jean, I think I would much prefer to claim my right to ‘Trial by Combat’, LOL 🙂
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I had no idea “Saint” Patrick was not a saint! Makes sense I guess since there are a lot of shenanigans that go on during St. Patrick’s day that aren’t very saint-ly haha. I learn things every time I read your blog. Thanks for sharing!
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My pleasure, I just love these old sites, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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As much as I enjoy your pictures, I think I like your narrative even more – especially when you offer more than a description of the photos. As a writer who dips into mythology I really appreciate what you share.
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Thank you, our ancient history and lore is a passion for me. Im glad that I have a way of sharing it with everyone 🙂
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