By Brian Igoe
By Brian Igoe
The story of Ireland of course starts much earlier than Brian Boru, but increasingly as one goes back in time, more of it comes from myths and legends and less from recorded history. Archaeologists' reports vary, but there seems to be a general consensus that there was little or no human habitation before the Neolithic period. There are Neolithic remains at Tara on the east coast, north of Dublin. They include a Neolithic passage tomb under a huge mound, around 3 metres high and 24 metres across, and probably date to around 5000 BC. The Céide Fields near Ballycastle on the north Mayo coast in the west of Ireland are small fields separated by dry-stone walls. They are one of the oldest known field systems in the world, and date to around 3000BC. The people who made them grew barley and wheat. There are numbers of long barrow tombs known as 'court tombs' because of a semi-circular chamber (or court) before the tomb chamber. These are mostly in the northern half of the island, and evidence of rectangular timber houses associated with them have been found in Tyrone and Mayo. Who built them, who farmed there, is a matter for speculation, and probably always will be.
That is the first paragraph of the chapter, which then goes on to look at the Neolithic period, Tara in 5000 BC, the Céide Fields near Ballycastle on the north Mayo coast, ringforts, 'souterrains', crannógs, Cuchulain (a fearsome warrior), Queen Maeve (a Goddess Queen), the Tuatha, Dalriada, Niall of the Nine Hostages, St. Patrick, Brendan the Navigator, St. Colum Cille, and the Columban monks, illuminated manuscripts the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells, the Brehon legal system and eineachlan, or 'honour price', the 'Ri' and 'Ard Ri', the Bards and their Music, the Harp and the Pipes or Bagpipes, the High King Cormac MacArt known as 'Ceolach' or the Musical, the file, or poet and their filidh, Finn macCumaill (Finn McCool), the roads (slighe, remut, bother, and the botharin surviving today as a boreen), the system of briugu or 'public hospitallers' who kept houses where travellers could stop and find accommodation and food free of charge, the Vikings, 'round towers' like that at Devenish in County Fermanagh, and lastly what might be the remains of a Roman fort at Drumanagh, 15 miles north of Dublin.
The Book is called 'The Story of Ireland'. It is available either as a paperback, an ebook, or a much smaller "pocket" sized paper back edition (4.2" x 6.8") for travellers.The printed books can be bought online here.
The E-book can be purchased directly from our site here.