River Boyne in Irish History
This evening I am focusing on the River Boyne and its place in Irish history. Boyne is one of the earliest recorded place names. Ptolemy recorded the river at the Bavinda ( a transliteration of the Celtic ‘illuminated cow’ ) as far back as AD 150.The name Boinn or Boand refers to the goddess or divinised River Boyne. Close to the Boyne can be found the famous prehistoric passage tombs of Bru na Boinne dating from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Here there are 30-40 tombs found at Knowth , Newgrange and Dowth. Passage tombs comprise a circular mound or cairn delimited by a ring or kerb of stones covering a structure consisting of a passage and chamber. Newgrange is the most famous of the passage tombs. The Boyne region is also noted for the concentration of megalithic art; some 70pct of decorated stones in Ireland can be found here. Moving forward to 1690 it was close to the Boyne that as fought the most famous military engagement in Irish history, the outcome of whi...