Walking in the Footsteps of Celtic Mythology Queen Maeve’s Tomb in Sligo, Ireland
April 26th, 2008 by
travel
Queen Maeve’s Tomb sits high above the town of Sligo, Ireland on a low mountain named Knocknarea (”Mountain of the Moon”). Legend states that it is good luck to bring a stone up the mountain to place on the large cairn, but that it is bad luck to remove a stone. This would explain it’s formidable height.
From the center of town, the mountain looks anything but daunting. It looks like another one of those beautiful hills that Ireland’s Northwest is so well known for. Look a little closer however, and you’ll notice a bump on the top of this relatively flat-topped hill. This bump is of course, the tomb of Queen Maeve herself.
In Celtic mythology, Queen Maeve was known as the Warrior Queen of Connacht. Unfortunately, the queen had a reputation of being quite unkind, having murdered her own sister Eithne with the intent to covet Eithne’s husband. She also seems to have made her way through a number of husbands, disposing of each by murder. She figures prominently in “T
Tags: Adventure Travel, budget travel, Ireland, mythology, sligo ireland, travel in ireland, walking tours