Hill of Uisneach

Hill in County Westmeath, Ireland

The Hill of Uisneach or Ushnagh (Uisneach or Cnoc Uisnigh) is a hill and ancient ceremonial site in the barony of Rathconrath in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is a protected national monument. It consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—prehistoric and medieval—including a probable megalithic tomb, burial mounds, enclosures, standing stones, holy wells and a medieval road. Uisneach is near the geographical centre of Ireland, and in Irish mythology it is deemed to be the symbolic and sacred centre of the island. It was said to be the burial place of the mythical Tuatha Dé Danann, and a place of assembly associated with the druids and the festival of Bealtaine. and lies north of the R390 road, 8 km east of the village of Ballymore and beside the village of Loughnavalley. The hill occupies parts of four adjacent townlands: Ushnagh Hill, Mweelra, Rathnew, and Kellybrook.

The site consists of a set of monuments and earthworks spread over two square kilometres. About twenty are visible, and the remains of at least twenty others have been identified under the ground. They include a probable megalithic tomb, burial mounds, enclosures, standing stones, holy wells and a medieval road. They date from the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages, showing that the site has been the focus of human activity for about 5,000 years. Several sites were excavated in the 1920s by R. A. S. Macalister and R. Praeger. In Irish it is called the Ail na Míreann ("stone of the divisions"), as it is said to have been where the borders of the provinces met. It is nicknamed the Cat Stone, allegedly because it resembles the shape of a sitting cat. The biggest monument at Uisneach is Rathnew, the remains of a figure of eight shaped earthwork. An early medieval road leads towards Rathnew from the foot of the hill. Rathnew was originally one round enclosure marked by a ditch, with an eastern entrance. Inside it were several pits containing partly burnt animal bones, each sealed with large flat stones. It appears that fires "had been kindled, and then suddenly quenched" with water or soil, in a ritual. There was also a large ash bed containing thoroughly charred animal skeletons. This appears to have been "a sanctuary site, in which fire was kept burning perpetually, or kindled at frequent intervals", where animal sacrifices were offered. The Dindsenchas ("lore of places") says that Uisneach is where the druid Mide lit a sacred fire that blazed for seven years. In mythology, Uisneach and Tara are said to be linked. In the literature, Tara is mainly associated with royal power, while Uisneach is mainly associated with spiritual power. It was linked to Tara by the ancient road called the Slighe Assail; the modern R392 road mostly follows its route. The tragic tale of Deirdre and the "sons of Uisnech" or "sons of Uisliu" (Naisi, Ardan and Ainle) is part of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain") says that Stonehenge originally stood at the 'hill of Killare' (mons Killaraus) in Ireland, before being moved to Britain. This is thought to refer to Uisneach, as Killare is a place at the foot of the hill.