Oct 31, 2020
Image: How Tlachtga may have looked in Celtic times
from John Gilroy's book Tlachtga: Celtic Fire Festival.
Tlachtga (Hill of Ward) near Athboy, County Meath , is 12 miles from the Hill of Tara according to .discoverboynevalley.ie. The earthworks which are about 150 meters (under 500 feet) in diameter are most impressive from the air. Tlachtga dates from approximately 200 AD and was the location of the Great Fire Festival begun on the eve of Samhain (eve November first).
The festival probably lasted for at least several days and centered on the god Lugh. The site takes it name from Tlachtga (the daughter of the Druid Mug Ruith) who died there giving birth to triplets. Tlachtga is clearly visible from Tara and the fire lit on the eve of Samhain was a prelude to the Samhain Festival at Tara .
With the coming of Christianity the festival was incorporated into the Christian calendar as a time of remembrance for the holy souls, so the Samhain festival of the ancestors retained its relevance. The customs of Samhain that didn't fit into Christianity survived as Halloween. Irish immigrants carried the Halloween tradition to North America in the 19th century.
The Festival of Samhain was the great festival of the dead. It also marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The Winter fires were lighted when the sun went down on the eve of Samhain.
The earthworks seen on the Hill of Ward today represent the last phase of development about 2000 years ago. The remains of an older barrow burial have been incorporated in the earthworks. It is likely that the hill was the centre of ritual activity long before the Celtic period.
Loughcrew is clearly visible from Tlachtga and the cairns at Loughcrew are about 5000 years old. At Cairn Loughcrew the Samhain sunrise illuminates a standing stone in the chamber of the cairn.
Tlachtga was the center of the Great Fire Festival that signaled the onset of winter. The rituals and ceremonies carried out here by the pre-Christian Irish, offered assurances to the people that the powers of darkness would be overcome, and the powers of light and life would, once again, be in the ascendancy. This was the place where the Celtic sun god was celebrated at the year's end.
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