The Ruins of Old Mellifont Abbey

Nechtan,  the King of Leinster,  ruled over vast tracts of land.   On this land was the ancient Well of Segais which was surrounded by nine sacred hazel trees of wisdom.   Anyone who ate the hazelnuts that fell into the well,  or drank its water,  would be granted knowledge and a poetic tongue.  No one but […]

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My Top 10 of Everything – Fabulous Ancient Sites around the Mediterranean

How does one go about selecting just 10 gems!   There are some glaring omissions but I’ve tried to give a geographical spread (obviously there could be 10 sites in Greece alone….or Italy….or Egypt….).   There are sites here from everyone’s bucket list as well as some lesser known treasures.  I’ve visited all ten,  some more than […]

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A Date in the Irish Calendar – St. Brigid’s Day

Its February 1st – the start of Spring.    Here in Ireland we have another reason for celebration.   This is the feast day of one of our patron saints (St. Brigid shares the honour with St. Patrick and St. Colmcille). Throughout the country,  towns,  schools,  churches,  crosses,  holy wells and of course females,  are named […]

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The High Crosses of Monasterboice

The first thing you spot from the distance is the round tower, roofless now but still rising to over 100ft above the surrounding farmland and announcing to the world that this was once a site of great importance. Monasterboice translates as Mainistir Bhuite – monastery of Buite. Saint Buite was an Irish monk and a […]

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Wonders of Belize – The Maya

Sandwiched between the more famous sites of Yukatan and Guatamala,  many archaeologists and cultural anthropologists now believe that Belize was actually the centre of the Maya civilization. Spanning about 4000 years,  this society flourished and evolved into a sophisticated network of city states,  each one with its own ruler and bound together through trade, religion […]

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