This geocache can be easily combined with 5Alley’s Lough Derg Double Cross [GCPM2T] with two
options…Either park in the car park recommended on the cache
page for GCPM2T, from where I’m told it is a fairly tough uphill
climb via the Graves of the Leinstermen…Or you can navigate
around the lanes to the turning at N52.50.307 W008.23.722 and
drive right up to the summit from this junction, in the style of
the lazy hill walker [Please note, in frosty weather this very
steep track is likely to be extremely slippery, both up and
down, so driving up is not recommended in icy conditions]
Tountinna, the highest peak in the Arra Mountains at 457 metres,
is sometimes known as the Hill of the Waves. Legend tells of
Fintain, Ireland’s first man, surviving a great flood by staying
safely above the waves on the summit of Tountinna.
This area is reportedly the remains of the oldest known
habitation in Ireland. In Michael Dames’ book, Mythical Ireland, he
refers to Tountinna as one of twenty hills that can be seen from
Uisneach, and that at the Pagan festival of Beltaine a fire was lit
on the summit. Some claim that on a clear day you can see 5
counties, others argue they can identify landmarks in up to eight
different counties.
According to yet another legend, this is the scenic place where
a party of ancient Leinster warriors were reportedly laid to rest
after an almighty battle with the Dal Caiseann forces of Brian
Boru.
This legend starts approximately 1,000 years ago. In those days
Ireland was split into 4 kingdoms: Ulster (north), Connacht (west),
Munster (south), and Leinster (east). But the kingdoms were subject
to shifting borders as intertribal marriages and border squabbles
led to shifting allegiances. More importantly, there was constant
pressure from Viking invaders who for nearly 200 years had been
penetrating the coastal rivers hoping to colonize the productive
agricultural lands of Ireland.
By the turn of the first millennium the Northmen had become well
established in parts of eastern and south-eastern Ireland—largely
in the Kingdom of Leinster, and, especially in and around Dublin.
They also controlled Limerick in Munster, south central Ireland,
where the Shannon River emerges from the Shannon Estuary in the
midst of productive, low farmlands. These Viking/Irish were
powerful and aggressive and they found the clannish Gaels
disunited, easily suppressed, and often willing participants to
battle against their rival Irish neighbours.
And then came Brian! Brian Boru rose up in Munster to become the
greatest of the Irish kings.
When Brian’s brother, Mahon, King of Munster, decided to battle
King Imar in opposition against his heavy taxation of Munster,
Imar’s men killed him. Brian replaced his brother as Munster’s king
and tracked down Imar and his army, slaughtering them on an island
in the Shannon Estuary. Brian Boru now controlled much of the south
of Ireland, and, in the process, became the enemy of the Irish King
of Leinster and his ally, Viking Sitric Silkenbeard, King of
Dublin.
Sometime during Brian’s reign as King of Munster, a royal
wedding was to be held near Limerick. The King of Leinster, allied
with the Limerick Vikings, was invited to attend, and, with a small
contingent of his army set out to cross northern County Tipperary -
enemy territory - to reach Limerick and the wedding. The route
selected would avoid towns as much as possible, to avoid detection
and confrontation with Brian’s Munstermen. It was to cross the
highest of the Arra Mountains, Tountinna, 1,500 feet high, where
there were no villages until reaching the River Shannon at Ballina,
not far from the Limerick border.
Brian Boru’s fort was at the neck of Lough derg, where it
narrowed back into the River Shannon, just above Killaloe. The view
from the fort looked across the river toward Ballina and the Arra
Mountains, with a clear view of Tountinna. Gormlaith, bride of
Brian, was at home in Killaloe when she received word of the
wedding guests underway from Leinster. Although Brian was at that
moment away from Killaloe, Gormlaith knew an opportunity when she
saw one, and proved to be no shrinking violet. Calling on her loyal
friends in Dublin, Gormlaith learned the travel plans of the King
of Leinster and his travelling army and planned a surprise welcome
for them when they neared the end of their journey.
As the tired wedding guests reached the heights of Tountinna and
came into sight of Lough Derg, they were set upon by the murderous
attack of a superior force led by a fierce woman. No mercy was
shown. The entire wedding party—including the King of Leinster—was
slain on the slopes of Tountinna. They were buried on the spot, and
the graves marked with several medium sized blocks of native
stone.
Initial cache contents include: FTF Car Sticker, 700MB CD-R
disk, Small Alarm Clock, Marbles, Thelwell ruler, 2 x AA batteries,
small notebook, Geocaching.com compass keyring, Thelwell address
book and pen, pack of crayons, small toy compass. Kindly only take
swap items if you leave something in return.
If you have the time, a visit to the site of Brian Boru’s
Fort is a must. Cross the bridge from Ballina, North Tipperary,
into Killaloe, Co. Clare. Turn right at the far end of the bridge,
towards Scarriff, and after a mile or so, start looking for signs
for Brain Boru’s Fort. We also recommend Gooser’s in Ballina for a
sublime meal and refreshing drinks!