Hill of Slane

The story attached to this hill is one of the founding scenes of Irish Christianity: in 433, Patrick is said to have lit a paschal fire here on the eve of Easter, in direct breach of the high king's order that no fire should burn before the one at Tara, ten kilometres south and visible from the summit. Whether it happened is unknowable; the hill was certainly a monastic site early. What stands now is later - the ruins of a Franciscan friary and college founded in 1512 by the Fleming family, with a substantial church, a tower that can be climbed by a narrow spiral stair, and the roofless remains of the college buildings. From the top the view covers the Boyne Valley, and Tara is visible on a clear day, which is the whole point of the legend. The site is unstaffed and free, with no interpretation beyond a panel.

History

Muirchu's seventh-century Life of Patrick says the saint lit a Paschal fire on this hilltop in 433 in defiance of the High King Laoire, who had forbidden any other fire while the festival fire burned at Tara. It is more certain that Patrick appointed a bishop of Slane, Saint Erc, and the hill remained a centre of religion and learning for many centuries (Wikipedia, Slane).

What's there

• The friary ruins - church and college buildings from 1512.
• The tower - climbable by a narrow spiral stair to a view over the valley.
• The Tara sightline - the hill visible south, which the legend depends on.
• The earlier mound - the motte and earlier monastic ground on the hill.

When to go

April to October. The tower stair is unlit and slippery in wet weather. Early or late gives the best light over the Boyne Valley.

Practical notes

Unstaffed and unlit - the tower stair is narrow, worn and steep, with no handrail. Almost no interpretation on site. The car park is small and the lane up is narrow.

Nearby

Slane village and the Boyne are below; Newgrange and Knowth are east.