Trip to Ireland part 2: Spirals, Stones and the Magic of Tara

It was after seeing the Newgrange Monument in a documentary that I knew: I want to see that place in real life. It became the reason why we booked this trip to the Boyne Valley in Ireland. As I mentioned in part 1, our trip had been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. But in May 2022 we finally travelled to Ireland to explore the Boyne Valley and yes, also to visit a few pubs.

What I didn’t know at the time, was that this journey would awaken something in me that would quietly change my life. The stones, symbols and myths seemed to touch something that lay dormant deep inside. Since that trip, I’ve developed a strong connection with crystals, minerals and geometric shapes. My home is now filled with crystals, each with its own meaning, and I honestly can’t imagine life without them anymore.

Boyne Valley

While looking for information about the Boyne Valley, I discovered that the region, besides the beautiful river Boyne, is home to many other Neolithic monuments. Newgrange is the most well-known and heavily restored one. The more I read about the area, the clearer it became that I wouldn’t have time to see it all. So I got in touch with Anthony Murphy, who created the beautiful website mythicalireland.com, full of in-depth information about the monuments, mythology, archaeology and Sidhe power.

Most of the Neolithic monuments in the Boyne Valley (there are many later archaeological sites too) are rounded mounds, often built with similar structures and layouts. In dry seasons, new sites are still discovered by drone, visible from above as large circular patterns in the landscape.

Some mounds are covered with grass and earth, hiding the stones beneath. Others are open. Many have a stone entrance that reminds me of Stonehenge: two upright pillars and a lintel, leading into a long narrow passage and a round inner chamber. Around the outside, the restored sites often feature decorated kerbstones carved with spirals, zigzags, sun shapes and other geometric forms. While each site has its own energy and theme, certain patterns keep showing up, especially spirals and circular designs.

Below, I’ll describe the places we visited and what I personally experienced there. If you want to dive deeper, I’ve added links to Anthony’s website for each location.

Hill of Tara

The first place we visited was the Hill of Tara — a wide open hilltop with stunning views in all directions. It doesn’t feel like a mountain or hill but more like a high, windswept plain. Across the landscape are dozens of ancient monuments and earthworks, as well as some beautiful old trees near the church and along the field edges.

From above, you can see the circular patterns clearly in the landscape. Walking through the site, the shapes are more subtle — the ground undulates gently, with  ridges and ditches. The most visible structure is the Mound of the Hostages, which you can see in the photo below as the little hill surrounded by white dust. During our first visit, a tractor happened to be spreading lime across the field. The effect was almost ghostlike — and soon we found ourselves covered in white too. We decided to come back another day, and the photos you see here are from both visits.

That first visit did lead us into the gift shop where I found a t-shirt and shawl with a Neolithic triskelion. Since it was my birthday that day, it became my Ireland birthday gift from Willem. I didn’t know yet that the exact spiral design was based on the stone at the entrance of the Newgrange monument, which I later painted (see part 4 of this blog). But already on day one, Ireland gave me something lasting: a fascination with spirals — especially the triskelion, with its three spirals and ancient meaning.

The Hill of Tara (Temair, in Irish) was once the ceremonial heart of Ireland. According to old sources, no less than 142 kings ruled here in prehistoric and historic times. In Irish mythology, it was considered the sacred home of the gods — and a gateway to the Otherworld.

At the top of the hill stands the Lia Fáil, also known as the Stone of Destiny. According to legend, the stone was brought here by the godlike Tuatha Dé Danann and would roar when touched by the true king of Tara. I touched it and heard nothing. But maybe this was the stone that quietly sparked my later fascination with spirals and crystals.

Coming up next...

In the next post, I’ll take you along on our private tour with Anthony Murphy — through hidden monuments like Fourknocks and Dowth, and finally to the famous Newgrange itself: the monument that first called me here.

This blog is part of a four-part series about my journey to Ireland. You can also read part 1 here, part 3 here and all about the drawings I made here in part 4.