Hill of Slane…
Quick-fire Facts About the Hill of Slane…
The Hill of Slane is roughly 78 miles from Belfast, which is approximately an hour and a half drive away, mostly via the motorway.
The site is free to access and open all year round, however the car park is small, and the surrounding field can be very slippery when raining (speaking from experience!).
I would say the site is dog friendly, as long as your dog is leashed! Only other drawback is the lack of bins for dog mess.
The Hill of Slane sits at 158 metres above the surrounding countryside, and can be seen from the Hill of Tara, approximately 13 miles away.
It is said in Irish history that there was a fire lit every spring equinox on the Hill of Tara; all other fires were prohibited. In 433AD, while the Druids were celebrating the Feast of Tara, St. Patrick lit a Paschal fire in celebration of Easter on the Hill of Slane. Despite being outraged by this defiance, King Laoghaire was also impressed by St. Patrick’s devotion to his faith, and so allowed him to continue with his mission in Ireland.
The current ruins can be dated back to 1512, and were also built upon the site of a previous monastery founded by St. Erc, a follower of St. Patrick.
The ruins of the college were built to house 4 priests, 4 lay brothers, and 4 choristers.
The monastery and college were built for Franciscans by the Flemings, the Barons of Slane between the 11th-17th centuries. The family coat of arms can be seen on the western wall of the college quad.
30 years after it was founded, the monastery was dissolved by Henry VII.
The Flemings restored it in 1631, and it then became home to Capuchins monks before they were later driven out in 1651 by Cromwellian forces.
Eventually, the site was abandoned in 1723.
Supposedly, the burial mound atop the hill is the resting place of Ireland’s earliest king; Sláine.
The Christian hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’ was set to an early medieval Irish folk song named ‘Slane’, which is about the Hill of Slane.
