Croghan Hill ( or ''Brí Éile'') is a hill with a height of in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, Ireland. The remains of an extinct volcano, it rises from the

Bog of Allen The Bog of Allen ( ga, Móin Alúine) is a large raised bog in the centre of Ireland between the rivers Liffey and Shannon. The bog's 958 square kilometers (370 square miles) stretch into County Offaly, County Meath, County Kildare, County Lao ...

and dominates the surrounding plains. Historically known as ''Brí Éile'', it is mentioned in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

and is traditionally seen as a sacred hill. On the summit is an ancient pagan

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

with panoramic views, which reputedly became the inauguration site of the

kings of Uí Failghe Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

. On the eastern slope is an old graveyard and the remains of a medieval church, while at the western foot of the hill is the remains of a medieval settlement, church and castle. An ancient

bog body A bog body is a human cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog. Such bodies, sometimes known as bog people, are both geographically and chronologically widespread, having been dated to between and the Second World War. Fischer 199 ...

Old Croghan Man Old Croghan Man (''Seanfhear Chruacháin'' in Irish) is a well-preserved Irish Iron Age bog body found in June 2003. The remains are named after Croghan Hill, north of Daingean, County Offaly, near where the body was found. The find is on disp ...

, was found nearby. The village of Croghan is at the southern foot of the hill.

Archaeology and myth

Croghan Hill is traditionally seen as a sacred place."Burial place may date from early Christian age"
''The Irish Times'', 11 December 1997. At the summit is an ancient burial mound, which has never been excavated but is believed to date from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

or earlier. Seen from the sacred hill of

Uisneach , alternate_name = Ushnagh (anglicisation) , image = Hill of Uisneach.jpg , alt = , caption = Information sign , map = , map_caption = , map_type = island of Ireland , map_alt = A map of Ireland , map_size = , location = ...

, the

midwinter Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars. Attestations Midwinter is attested in the early Germanic calendars, where it appears to have been a specific day or a number of days during the winter ha ...

sun rises over Croghan Hill. 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 The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld ...

. ''The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn'' says that each

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...

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. An ancient bog body,

, 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. On the eastern slope of the hill is an old graveyard and the remains of an early medieval church.Historic Environment Viewer
National Monuments Service. This church is named after Bishop Mac Caille, who is said to have been associated with

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

. The hill also has associations with

Saint Brigid Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogra ...

. 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. The hilltop may have been the inauguration place of the Ó Conchobhair (O'Connor) kings of Uí Failghe (Offaly).FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. ''Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland''. Boydell Press, 2004. p.32 At the western foot of the hill is the ruins of an O'Connor castle as well as a medieval settlement and church. There are also several

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

s around the hill.

References

{{Mountains and hills of Leinster Archaeological sites in County Offaly Marilyns of Ireland Mountains and hills of County Offaly Volcanoes of the Republic of Ireland Extinct volcanoes Pre-Holocene volcanoes Carboniferous volcanoes

Archaeology and myth

See also

References