To say that Hill of Tara is a ring fort is depreciative of the place, because Hill of Tara was the seat of the power for all the High Kings of Ireland. Rather than a true seat of kingship, it was a ritual place for all the ceremonies linked to the power of the High Kings.
Actually it includes a number of different monuments mainly buried under the ground. Among them we can name a passage tomb, some holy wells and a couple of standing stones. One of these standing stones, the Lia Fáil or Stone of Destiny, stands on the highest point of the site, atop the mound that is known as the Royal Seat. At this stone the High Kings were crowned during a ceremony. According to the legend, the stone would scream if the candidate king could perform a series of challenges, and this scream could be heard all over Ireland.
What is for sure is that from up here I could almost see the whole country of Ireland.
The wind was too strong to appreciate the place well and we were forced to make it quick.
The coordinates for this page were taken at this stone.
We came here for the first time on December 12th, 1995. It was a frosty morning, the grass crumbled under our feet.
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