Little Hunk of Burning Love

Slane won't attract the column inches on here that it's fellow Meath hills of Tara or Loughcrew will, but for me it has a great charm and in some ways I far prefer visiting it than it's more famous big brother! It's great for a cold evening walk or a summer day outing with the kids.

Most of the summit area is easily accessible. There is ample car parking nearby and from here you can explore the Christian buildings and graveyard. The 16th century friary building is the most interesting and children (big and small) will love exploring it. The most legendary story about Slane is that St Pat himself lit a paschal fire here in defiance of the high king on Tara, a tradition that is kept up till this day on Easter Saturday. However, you will need to go past all the buildings to reach the true top. The highest point (or certainly for several hundred years) is the well preserved 12th century motte. You need to negotiate two electric fences and two gates to reach this point, as it is on the private land of the Conyngham estate. Now you can rock up to his nearby castle and ask Henry for permission if you want, but as far as I am aware he has no major problem with access. (Note: he actually resides in Beauparc house on the other side of the Boyne and not the well known castle).

Personally, I enjoy parking all the way down at the river Boyne and enjoying the walk the whole way up the hill through the historic village and it's architecture. This will give you height gain of 120 metres and cover a distance of over 2km river to motte.

It's a great wee historic hill and if you are passing through Slane on the N2 at night keep an eye out for it's light's that burn to this day and can be seen from a couple of miles south of the river! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1060/comment/15819/

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The summit may be older than is at first apparent.

The summit motte and surrounding bailey has been the subject of research recently, for example:

http://hillofslane.wordpress.com/2010-research-background/

It appears that the motte may not be the common or garden Anglo-Norman motte and bailey, but may be older, Iron Age (400-600 CE) or even Bronze Age (2500 to 600 BCE).

If you are visiting, look out for a smaller, secondary enclosure to the SE of the Motte and summit, just touching the enclosure around the bailey. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1060/comment/16046/

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Old as the hills

The Hill of Slane is steeped in Christian history and ancient myth. St Patrick is traditionally believed to have lit the first paschal fire on the hill in defiance of the pagan High King Lóegaire residing on the Hill of Tara, 16km away.
The present ruins include the medieval church with a well-preserved early gothic tower situated inside a walled enclosure, and a former Franciscan monastery. Even before the establishment of the ancient monastery, the hill had a mythological history. The warrior and Fir Bolg King Slaine is said to have died on the spot and is believed to have been buried here. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1060/comment/23830/

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Curious hill

Just a picture. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1060/comment/15838/

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Twinned with Japan

Wed 12th Feb, in the middle of the motte on the Hill of Slane, I spotted this curiosity. Can anyone enlighten me as to its origin. Is Slane twinned with Japan? Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1060/comment/15854/

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