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Hi all,
Tonight at Tara we continue the festival of Samhain with Pipers
and Harpists as well as Poets and other entertainment but before I leave
for the road I would like to thank all of you who lit beacons for Tara
xxx and share a few thoughts from the night myself.
After much
preperation by people constructing sheltered domes, making food, carrying
firewood and water, and general gearing up, we awaited the falling of night
with great anticipation. The first fire to be lit was at Tlachtga, Hill of
Ward in Athboy .The night was mild and dry and starlit. I had the great
honour of going there accompanied by Emma and Brogen Sharme Hayes and our
own Sean Gilmartin to light candles from it's flames and bring them on the
Sacred Pilgrimage to Tara. From these candles, Tara itself would be lit and
from there 7
flames went out to light her surrounding hills. I put a candle
from Brighid's flame in there for ya Jaen too :)
Once we arrived at
Tara we were escorted by a group of Warriors blowing horns to announce the
arrival of the flames. The fire was lit in the gravel pit by Phoenix where
he gave a short speech explaining the significance of the event and which
was greeted by much applause and high spirits. People were asked to make a
wish as they added their wood to the fire. We sang and chanted as the flames
grew higher and we continued on until it was time for the 7 teams to come
forward to light their candles and set about their journeys to the hills
around Tara. The drumming and chanting continued around the fire.
I
wandered around from gathering to gathering for a while saying hello and
meeting people. Eventually I set off for the Mound of the Hostages where I
stayed alone for a long time soaking it in, relishing the moment in
reverence and imagining what it must have been like there many many
lifetimes ago. I imagined how happy the Ancestors must be to see their
tradition awakened again. It was quite overwhelming.
I checked in
with the Teams every so often to see how they were progressing and as each
fire was lit they reported back and let a rocket up into the air. They
werent perfectly synchronised but thats ok :) All fires were lit and I must
admit it was absolutely amazing looking around and knowing that not just
these but other Beacons all over the country and across the world were
twinkling back at Tara. If
you didnt know where to look you could have been
looking at any other bonfire on halloween night , but these were Special. I
spent a while hanging around afterwards listening to the poetry and singing
before deciding it was time to sleep after all the excitement.
The
reports I have heard so far have been negatively centered on people being
drunk and yob teenagers setting fireworks off in very dangerous attacks on
people passing by. I am glad to say I didnt see any of that. I did see a few
drunks but only one was really out of line. I have heard of people falling
over drunk but again, I didnt see anyone falling except in the dark
wandering around without torches. It was to be expected I suppose that a yob
element would turn up seeing as it was open to the public but I hope that
people will be more vigilant tonight so that these thugs dont get a chance
to mar another event. Hope to have pics soon
:)
Blessings,
Carmel
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