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Hill of Ward

Coordinates: 53°37′26″N 6°53′10″W / 53.624°N 6.886°W / 53.624; -6.886
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Hill of Ward
Tlachta
Highest point
Elevation90 m (300 ft)
Prominence50 m (160 ft)
ListingMarilyn
Coordinates53°37′26″N 6°53′10″W / 53.624°N 6.886°W / 53.624; -6.886
Geography
Hill of Ward Tlachta is located in island of Ireland
Hill of Ward Tlachta
Hill of Ward
Tlachta
Location in Ireland
LocationCounty Meath, Ireland

The Hill of Ward (Irish: Tlachta, formerly Tlachtgha)[1] is a hill in County Meath, Ireland.

Geography

The hill lies between Athboy (to the west) and Ráth Chairn (to the east). During medieval times it was the site of great festivals, including one at which winter fires were lit at Samhain, the forerunner of the modern Halloween. It is associated with the figure Tlachtga, a druidess in Irish mythology who is said to have given birth to triplets on the hill.

History

The Hill of Ward is the site of an Iron Age earthen ringfort, which was in later times associated with the Kings of Mide of and of Munster. The hill featured in Irish tales of Tlachtga and her father Mug Ruith, who was said to have ridden his flying machine roth rámach over it. In 1168 High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair held a massive gathering at the site.

The hill got its English name from a landowner, Ward, who had been evicted from his land during the invasion of Oliver Cromwell in 1649. The land was given to a Roundhead soldier. The Ward family, whose forebears were landowners of the hill and of whom the hill was named after, are living in County Meath today.

References