This Blog is all about chronicling hidden places - hidden sights of Ireland; unknown places, enclaves and locations off the beaten track; and the place called Bremore on the east coast, straddling the Dublin/Meath border merits inclusion on that list. A few miles north of Balbriggan, County Dublin, the best way to explore this beauteous cleft in the coastal strip of plenty, is to go to the Delvin bridge (a short distance from the Huntsman's Inn pub), and head down to the right, following the Delvin river to its mouth!
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Either side of this river, is to be found a series of mounds (passage tombs) - and hence a complex - which would seem to be every bit as important as their more famous counterparts - the Boyne Valley - and very plausibly designate the start off point for the neolithic people - like turning a key in an enigmatic lock - as they moved inland. Indeed, one could draw a line, linking them to Fourknocks passage tomb, then on to the Boyne Valley; the line can be taken further to Loughcrew, then on to Carrowkeel and Carrowmore in county Sligo, in the northwest. (Gaelic mythology of course, attributes the advent and construction of the passage tomb to the enigmatic and magical Tuatha De Danaan - they may well have simply been a highly advanced neolithic people, who were portrayed and depicted as Gods by the good folk of the land, and those who forged their links with the Emerald Isle subsequently!).
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| Main mound of Bremore and satellite mound |
The Passage tomb is believed to have originated in the Iberian Peninsula; having travelled around there three times, I was struck by their prevalence and number in Galicia in the northwest. This conjures a very interesting scenario: the Beaker People, according to archaeologists were responsible for the construction of these megaliths in the Iberian peninsula, after which, they probably migrated to Ireland. Simultaneously, look at the mythology: as I've alluded to in a few posts in this blog, Gaelic mythology and Galician mythology corroborate each other regarding the connections between the two countries (the common denominator to both traditions and chronicles being the "Tower of Brigantia/Hercules" in La Coruna). This neatly accompanies the Beaker People scenario of people coming here from the Iberian Peninsula, so archaeology and mythology actually overlap each other!
Anyway, as one takes a ramble along the coast's edge heading south, onto where the land touches, the estuaries and rocks, one gets a very appreciable scope of the area's importance: flint is readily found, the water is particularly translucent, as if conveying and unveiling the deepest thoughts of profundity; there is a fantastic view as far north as the Mournes, and there are the passage tombs themselves; there is also a lovely array of wildlife, protected under an EU Habitats directive. In sum, this is an untouched, pristine wilderness, and as one looks back to the beach, just beyond where the river Delvin, sallies forth, the incline of the cliff face is most evocative! There is also an energy around here, which pokes me tantalisingly with the thought, that this is a very important place in the history (ancient) of Ireland. At the end of a recent walk, led by local historian, Brendan Matthews, close to the Wishing Chair (a curious rocky outline/outcrop, at which hikers and visitors can sit, muse, meditate and make a wish), I was able to look directly across the field, to the south, and see Balscadden Bay - known generically, as Cromwell's harbour, where it's believed Cromwell docked before heading northwards. I was also able to identify (with the assistance of a lady called Kathyrn), the church of the Beekeeper behind Balbriggan Castle in the near distance!
On the subject of the bee, the aforementioned Brendan Matthews mentioned that there might be a connection between here and the Boyne Valley via the goddess Eblana (which, of course, is what Dublin is called by Ptolemy on his c. second century maps). I found this most intriquing, and will be exploring the bee dimension very much in the near future.
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| Wishing Chair to be seen at the top of the rocky outcrop |
Photos courtesy of Teamhair Scrin
To cut to the heel of the chase, this area is under threat from a proposal of a 300 million euro deep sea port to be constructed here. Given what Professor George Eogan, Mark Clinton of An Taisce and the passionate and erudite Brendan Matthews, say about the area, in addition to its pristine beauty, its ecological significance, and its pedigree as a wildlife sanctuary, this would be an unthinkable scenario and yet another nadir for Irish society to add, to the long queue of the encroachment of consumerism and wealth of the last 20 years. Reference the following article (scroll 3/4's down) published by me in this newsletter pre-2002: www.ireland-information.com/nov01.htm If one then adds the disgrace of the Tara (Gabhra) Valley destruction in 2007/08, the percentage of Irish heritage destruction is probably 45/46% as we speak. This is the backdrop to where we are at now. This wilderness on the east coast of Ireland - Bremore - must be kept intact.
And so to finish with a poem:
East coast cooler
The water's sway and ripple
like an east coast boulevard
jettisons crests supple
at Bremore's salt water yard.
Was it a staging post? A couple
of mating tribes bore witness
to creation's subtleties?
The wit of time when witless
in the long boat's sureties!
In the soapy suds, what faeries
linger on moss and algae;
cream-coated estuaries,
the floating pupils of larvae?
For pre-Celt, neolithic,
the gateway of Meath;
rockhard in megalithic
when first civilisation teethe!
Did it seed on beach
and germinate? What fungi
carved its maiden speech?
Its depths and leagues rangy -
pristine and untouched cameo -
Eireann's flint-filed claymore!
Stones sharp in patterns long ago
will the willow at Bremore
fast forward their constellation so?
Oh Eblana Queen amore
for wildlife, heritage, protect Bremore!
PS For more info, check Save Bremore on Facebook
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