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GALLERY
Rath Meave in the Royal City of Tara. Sept 07
The ancient monument known as Rath Meave is on the south west side of the hill of Tara. The older spelling is Medb (Med.b., Medhbh, Meadhbh, Meab°, Meabh, Maeve, Maev; pronounced /mæðv/ in Irish, usually pronounced /me?v/ in English). This is an important high-banked defensive fort for the Royal City and it is about 250 metres or 750 feet in diameter. The authorities have neglected it and while this is a blessing - very little protection is available for it under current government legislation.
Meave of Tara should not be confused with the Queen Meave of Connacht except in that they both shared the same name and by association similar duties / responsibilities. Meave of Tara was the wife / lover of nine successive kings, including Fedlimid Rechtmar, Art mac Cuinn, Cormac mac Airt and Conn of the Hundred Battles. Her full name is Medb Lethderg = Meave of the Red Side. The name Meave is said to mean 'she who intoxicates', and this is seen in English as the word 'mead’ - an alcoholic drink made from apples and honey. Many researchers say that the sacred marriage ceremony between the king and the goddess would involve a shared drink and this was probably mead.
The current forced M3 double troll road does not endanger Rath Meave directly. The primary threat to Rath Meave is in the lack of appropriate legislation for proper protection due to government avoidance of constitutional responsibility. A second future threat to the integrity of Rath Meave and its landscape setting is the urbanisation of the entire area of the Royal City of Gaelic Tara. Rath Meave is a perimeter fort for this huge city that is about 5 miles east-west and 3 miles north-south. The forced M3 cuts the Royal City in half and by so doing allows the corrupt authorities to pronounce that Tara is only 100 acres on a single hill top and thereby avoid having to protect the entire landscape setting of this magnificent Pagan City of Tara. There are no facilities at Rath Meave - no water, no parking and no toilets - the nearest facilities are privately owned and can be found on the top of Tara Hill in Maguire’s Cafe. This is the only shop and lunch venue for visitors to Tara and the owners are very nice people. Please respect that they are in many ways guardians of this sacred place while at the same time being employers and commercial service providers. A donation for the use of toilets during opening hours is appropriate / variable.
Another important goddess figure in this area is Etain Echraidhe (the White Mare; Rhiannon in Wales, Epona in France) but the White Mare is directly linked with the little river / stream in the middle of Tara Valley. The Royal City of Tara was over the two hills of Skreen and Tara and the valley in between with the River Gabhra flowing freely. This name ‘Gabhra’ is a catholic shape shift as it translates as Goat when in fact it was originally called after the White Mare by the Pagans before the dominance of catholicism. If Etain / Edain was the goddess of fertility and symbolised as a living expression in the landscape as the river today called the Gabhra - then the goddess Meave was the sovereignty of the land to whom all kings must marry and please.
The first image below shows Rath Meave on a map that also shows the froced M3 double troll road.
Rath Meave, perimeter fort for Tara
Shown below is Rath Meave from the air and it is very clear that this is a huge defensive feature. The east side of this huge fort almost touches the small road that runs north to the top of Tara Hill.
Rath Meave of Tara from the air
By comparasion - the circle in red is Tara Henge in the middle of Tara Valley and the heavily forested area is Rath Lugh - home to many as Camp Two.
Putting Rath Meave in context of the Royal City of Gaelic Tara below uses an ancient map overlaid with graphics by myself. The black line is the forced M3 double troll road and the red dots on this black line show some of the bigger monuments and sacred sites that have been or are due to be ....
There is no need for the M3 to take this longer route but there is definable greed recognised. The hidden benefits to Opus Dei is the potential destruction of the living landscape expression of the Gaelic Pagan Goddess, Etain Echraidhe - the White Mare of our Celtic Ancestors.
Directions on how to get there -
By bus - go to Busaras in Amien’s Street and ask for the bus to Navan. When paying for your ticket ask for the fare to Tara but when getting on the bus - ask the driver to let you off at Rath Meave just before Tara Hill. If you come out from Dublin - then Tara is a left turn and Rath Meave is the left turn before Tara. There is a brown signpost. If you are on Tara you just take the road south and keep going south for about a mile and you will soon be there.
By Car - from Dublin take the N3 North, about six kilometres after the village of Dunshaughlin there is a a brown sign-posted left turn for Rath Meave, at the end of this road is a T-Junction the Hill fort is in the field immediately in front at the T-Junction.
To find on a map - get the Discovery Map 43 and identify co-ordinates N 922 583.
References
Medb Lethderg, the sovereignty goddess of Tara and queen of Leinster.
http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/highkings.html#Medb
Medb Lethderg ("red-side") was a goddess of sovereignty associated with Tara. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medb_Lethderg
Medb (Med.b., Medhbh, Meadhbh, Meab°, Meabh, Maeve, Maev; pronounced /mæðv/ in Irish, usually pronounced /me?v/ in English) is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her father was Eochaid Feidlech, the High King of Ireland. Her best-known husband was Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him, all of whom were kings of Connacht while they were married to her. Her palace stood at Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She was probably originally a "sovereignty goddess", whom a king would ritually marry as part of his inauguration. A separate character, Medb Lethderg, performs a similar function in Tara.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medb
Maeve - (MAYV) From the Old Irish name Medb, meaning 'intoxicating'. The goddess of sovereignty at Tara was Medb Lethderg, meaning Maeve of the Red Side.http://www.fantasy-ireland.com/Irish-baby-girl-names.html
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