Royal sites of Ireland facts for kids
The royal sites of Ireland were special places where the ancient kings of Ireland lived and ruled. These sites were important for thousands of years, even before history was written down! You can still see very old monuments there, like burial mounds, standing stones, and cairns. These show that people thought these places were special for a very long time.
Old Irish stories tell us that these "royal sites" were where kings held important meetings, played games, and had ceremonies to become king.
Each Irish kingdom probably had its own royal site. But six sites are known as the most important ones. Four of these were the main royal sites for the four big provinces:
- Cashel for Munster
- Navan Fort for Ulster
- Dún Ailinne for Leinster
- Carnfree, part of Rathcroghan, for Connaught
The Hill of Tara was the home of the Kings of Meath and the most powerful king, the High King. These sites were known by different names long ago: Caisel, Emain Macha, Dun Ailinne (Knockaulin), Cruiachain (Cruachu), and Teamhair.
Uisneach was a place that brought all the provinces together. It might have been a meeting spot for all the kings. Most of these major sites (except Navan Fort, which is in Northern Ireland) are being considered as a possible UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of these main royal sites also had smaller, connected sites. For example, the King of Tara held big gatherings at Tailtiu (Teltown) and Tlachgta (the Hill of Ward) during the Lughnasadh festival.
What Made a Royal Site Special?
Historian Michael Herity studied many royal sites to find out what they had in common. He noticed that all of them had ring-barrows, which are circular mounds. Most also had hillforts (forts on hills) and long, straight avenues made of earth. Some had cairns or standing stones, but these might have been easily destroyed over time.
Herity also found that old stories often mentioned these sites as burial grounds. This might mean people honored their ancestors there. He also pointed out a special type of structure: a mound combined with a circular enclosure. This is almost only found at royal sites. Less common features included sacred trees, stone chairs, special stones for inaugurations, stone basins, and churches.
Becoming King: Inauguration Sites
Many royal sites were used for special ceremonies where new kings were crowned. Future kings wanted to connect themselves with the old monuments and the long history of these important places.
These ceremonies often treated the king's land like a "bride" he was marrying. The rituals were like a wedding feast. Being on top of a hill during the ceremony allowed the new king to look out over his "married" lands. In earlier times, some ceremonies even showed a king "marrying" a goddess who represented his land. Later on, this idea changed, and kingship became more about owning the land.
We don't have many detailed stories about these old ceremonies, and they were all a bit different. Some old stories describe unusual rituals, but these accounts might have been written to make the Irish seem wild or strange.
Later records show that there wasn't one single way to become king. But some common parts of the ceremony included:
- Races and drinking
- Reading poetry
- Parades showing the king's lands
- Giving the king a special white stick or rod, which was a symbol of his power.
Some ceremonies even included a special "single shoe" ritual. This was used for the Uí Choncobhair kings in the 1400s and the Uí Néill and Méig Uidhir kings in the 1500s.
In one story, a king-to-be would leave a single slipper at the inauguration site to show he claimed the land. The next day, a special family called the Mac Diarmada (who were "king-makers") would place the shoe on his foot.
For the Uí Néill kings, the new king would sit on a stone chair on the inauguration hill. Then, a person from the Uí Ágáin or Ó Catháin family (their king-makers) would throw a shoe over the prince's head. Throwing the shoe might have come from a tradition of throwing a shoe for good luck. It might also be linked to footprints carved into some inauguration stones.
Inauguration sites had many different features because they were very old. Some old features were changed to fit the ceremonies, like flattening the top of a burial mound. Many inauguration sites have small mounds with a flat top, just big enough for a person to stand on. These are thought to be "throne mounds," allowing the king to stand high and see his people and lands.
Some kings used stone chairs for their ceremonies. However, using a more regular "throne" chair probably came later, from other countries. A map from 1602 by Richard Bartlett shows a chair at Tulach Óg, where the Uí Néill kings of Tir Eoghain were crowned. The only old Irish inauguration chair still existing today is in the Ulster Museum. It belonged to the Uí Néill family of the Clann Aeda Buide.
Other Important Royal Sites
- Clogher Castle Hill, also called Clochar mac nDaimine, was the main city for the Airgialla people and later for the Cenél Fearadhaigh.
- Grianan of Aileach was an early medieval home for the northern Uí Néill of Cenél nEógain. They moved to Tulach Og in the 1000s.
- Knowth was used by the Síl nÁedo Sláine (Kings of Brega) as a royal home starting in the 800s.
- Brug Ríg (Dún Eochair Maigue) was an old alternative capital for Munster and later the capital for the Uí Fidgenti.
- Temair Luachra ("Tara of the Rushes") was the lost capital of Munster before Cashel. People have been looking for it for 200 years, but it hasn't been found for sure.
