Croghan Hill

Coordinates: 53°20′48″N 7°16′39″W / 53.34667°N 7.27750°W / 53.34667; -7.27750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses of the term, see Croghan (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Croghan Mountain.

Croghan Hill
Cnoc Cruacháin / Brí Éile
Marilyn
Coordinates53°20′48″N 7°16′39″W / 53.34667°N 7.27750°W / 53.34667; -7.27750
Geography
Location
Extinct volcano
Last eruption±350 MYA[2]

Croghan Hill (

Croghan
is at the southern foot of the hill.

Archaeology and myth

Croghan Hill is traditionally seen as a sacred place.

Uisneach, the midwinter sun rises over Croghan Hill.[4] In Irish mythology, Croghan Hill is called Brí Éile or Cruachán Brí Éile. Éile, which may come from a word meaning "prayer, praise", is said to be an Otherworldly woman or goddess who dwells within the mound. It was believed to be a portal to the Otherworld.[4] The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn says that each Samhain the men of Ireland went to the hilltop to woo this beautiful maiden, and that each year someone would mysteriously be killed to mark the occasion, by persons unknown.[5]

An ancient bog body, Old Croghan Man, was found near the hill in 2003. He died sometime between 362 BC and 175 BC, and appears to have been a king or man of high-status who was ritually killed.[6]

On the eastern slope of the hill is an old graveyard and the remains of an early medieval church.

Saint Brigid. She was said to have been born nearby and to have performed a miracle there so that she could cross the bogs which surround the hill.[3]

The hilltop may have been the inauguration place of the Ó Conchobhair (O'Connor) kings of Uí Failghe (Offaly).[8] At the western foot of the hill is the ruins of an O'Connor castle as well as a medieval settlement and church.[3][7]

There are also several holy wells around the hill.[3][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Croghan Hill". MountainViews.ie. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Croghan Hill". Ireland Byways. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Burial place may date from early Christian age". The Irish Times, 11 December 1997.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1862044463
    .
  5. ^ Cross, Tom P., & Clark Harris Slover, ed. & trans (1936). The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn – Ancient Irish Tales. New York: Henry Holt. pp. 360–69.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ISBN 978-1438444420
    .
  7. ^ a b c Historic Environment Viewer. National Monuments Service.
  8. ^ FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland. Boydell Press, 2004. p.32
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croghan Hill.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croghan_Hill&oldid=1149989535"