#42 Tuesday, May 6th, 2008: Lack of Funding for Navan Fort

Navan Fort is an early Christian settlement that involved a series mounds. Arrived at Navan Fort and was disappointed to see the gates closed. Ireland’s economy has only boomed recently and heritage sites have been made second to healthcare, city development and education. Sites like Navan Fort have been partially funded but not sufficiently. The government is making actions on renovating and restoring historical sites of interest. Navan Fort had to be closed last year due to lack of funding. The state reopened the site but only for a few months a year. We headed to Armagh to have lunch then Belfast to shop. Crossing the border is not significant; the land is the same and there are no customs or toll booths. Laura and Kathleen (Eammon’s sister) shopped and I headed to the park to read The Tain.
At Giant’s Causeway I bought the Irish epic and since then have finished the book. I was disappointed when I discovered that The Tain that I had read was the simplified and children version. Now I am borrowing Laura’s copy that has 505 pages instead of the 80 page Tain that I had. To better explain The Tain I did some independent research and found out many interesting historical facts within the book. The Tain has many versions because it was patched together with different texts over time. Parts of the text originate from the 8th century and others as late as the 14th century. This research revealed that Emain Macha (Ev-in Mah-ha), the biggest setting/location in the book, is Navan Fort. That means Navan Fort is one of the foremost archaeological sites in Ulster. The king of Ulster and the famous elite warriors of the Red Branch lived at Navan Fort. It was the political center of Ulster. I am confused because the plaques around Navan Fort only mentioned a Christian community but the settlement was completely Pagan.
I cannot believe that I was at Emain Macha and did not know it. The Emain Macha site should be on the states priority list!