Pictures are worth a Thousand words

This past weekend we took a day trip to see Lough Crew and Trim Castle. Our morning started out 9 am, which is extremely early if I do say so myself. We loaded the bus and headed out of Maynooth. The first stopof the day was Loughcrew. The Loughcrew Cairns form the largest complex of Passage Graves in Ireland. The Cairns are megalithic structures containing symbolic engravings.

Symbolic doodles, your guess is as good as mine as to what they mean!

 Like other passage graves in Ireland, they have clear astrological alignments. There is evidence of many uses during the millenia, but it is generally agreed that they were originally built about 4000 bc as burial chambers. They were excavated by amateurs at the beginning of the twentieth century, when many of the artifacts were removed. A blessing in disguise, perhaps, as recent archaeological scholars have concentrated on despoiling less explored sites, leaving Loughcrew relatively undeveloped and unknown; the best kept secret in archaeological Ireland. In a landscape of inspiring beauty and intriguing history, Loughcrew is rich in historical and archaeological, religious and natural interest.

Some of the girls looking into the Cairn

One of ancient Ireland’s major roads passes through Loughcrew, crossing the great Road of the Chariots nearby. The lakes abound with cranógs, and the drumlins are topped with innumerable motte and bailey forts. The remarkable Loughcrew Gardens, partly dating from the seventeenth century, and the Family Church of St Oliver Plunkett are nearby. The Loughcrew Cairns are thought to be 5,000 years old. They are the oldest feature of this extraordinary area, and, set on the highest hills in this part of Ireland, dominate the area now as they have done for all time. They may be the oldest calendar known, and may even be the world’s oldest existing dwellings. The Loughcrew Cairns have not been exposed, researched and developed like nearby Newgrange (which you will read moreabout on a later entry). They thus remain relatively unspoilt and unvisited, although the Office of Public Works keeps a Ranger on site in summer months and has improved coach access. The Cairns are in two groups; Carnbane West, about 15 cairns, including Cairn L which is roofed and contains superb symbolic carvings in good condition. This group is some 2 km walk from the Car Park on gently sloping ground. Carnbane East includes Cairn T, also roofed and with excellent engravings, and is a shorter but steeper walk.

Nicole in the exposed Cairn

The exposed cairns have suffered severely from acid rain erosion, removing much of the relief of the engravings. On our trip we had to climb a steep hill that went on for ages. when we finally reached the top the view was amazing. One of the local legends tells that if you sit upon the witches chair and make a wish it will come true. The “chair” is a big stone slab that is now used as an altar for pagan rituals.While we were viewing the Cairns we found many random objects such as a tweezers and a lighter lying on the ground.

Me in the Witches chair making my wish

We were warned to take our walk down the hill slowly as it is very easy to slip and fall and go tumbling down the hill head first through all of the sheep poo…Well you all know me and my ever so graceful ways, needless to say i didnt listen. I ended up on my butt in the mud. And it was very unpleasent, but on a brighter note i saved my camera from taking a mud bath. And i really hope to goodness that i just slipped in mud and not sheep poo, cuz that would have been nasty. Bu the view from the Cairns was gorgeous, you coudl see for miles. Well at least i believe you would ahve been able to see for miles, as it was foggy and windy on Saturday it was a little hard to see for those miles, but never the less the view was still amazing.

this was the view from the Cairns. I believe this was taken halfway up the hill!!

After our hour long visit to the Loughcrew Cairns we drove about an hour to the town of Trim. We stopped to eat lunch before moving on to the castle. The food at the resturant was amazing you got lots and a big piece of cake for dessert. I had the fish and chips (french fries) as the other choice was pork (ICK!!). It was absolutely delectible and the best part was there was so much food on my plate I couldnt even finish it, but of course i had enough room for dessert. It was the best piece of cake that i have ever eaten and it came with real cream…it wasnt whipped topping (it was great!!!). After our giant lunch we walked throughte town and on to the castle grounds. Trim is home to Ireland’s largest Anglo-Norman castle. It used in the filming of Braveheart in 1994. Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, was constructed over a thirty-year period by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter. Hugh de Lacy was granted the Liberty of Meath by King Henry II in 1172 in an attempt to curb the expansionist policies of Richard de Clare, (Strongbow).  Construction of the massive three storied Keep, the central stronghold of the castle, was begun c. 1176 on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. This massive twenty-sided tower, which is cruciform in shape, was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and moat. In Medieval times, Trim Castle stood like an imposing stone sentinel and powerful symbol of norman strength at the edge of the Pale, the small area of Anglo-Norman influence on Ireland’s eastern coast.

A Tower on the Gate Wall and Outer Keep

To go beyond the Pale was to enter the hostile world of the Gaelic Irish. Here at the edge, the two sides would have met – in conflict and in battle. We were guided through the main keep by a tour guide who really knew his stuff. The original keep was made of wood and de Lacy eventually built a stone keep in 1176. His family of 5 and the constable’s family were the only ones living in the keep along with their 12 male servants. There were no female servants as the families were small and not in need of female servants. The keep was built in three stages and when touring the inside of the castle you are able to see the sites of the two additions. The keep was built for defense and not comfort. you can find many arrow slits in the walls and very few windows. The arrow slits were constructed so only arrows were allowed out and not in. The windows that are present were small on the outside and large on the inside to allow for light to get through but no people. The stairs were all spiral staircases that spun a certain way so as to give the home field advantage so to speak. So when retreating up the stairs or going down a right handed sword man could have the advantage.  The chapel room was really the only room that had a real window tha twas facing east. It would have been covered by some sort of animal hide, mostly likely the lining of a sheeps stomach. This allowed for the light to go in but not the wind. You would have seen tapestries onteh walls not for decoration but rather to keep teh heat in, as there were no fire places.

Spiral Staircase in Trim Castle

There were no remains of ovens at this castle so i was not able to climb into it, but i did stand in the only fire place int eh whole castle,but the picture has mysteriously disappeared. Over all the trip to Loughcrew and Trim Castle was a huge success. Much Love til later, peace out!