Beannachtaí Cónocht an Earraigh ort. Equinox blessings to you.
After almost six months of terrible weather, it is wonderful to see the sun in Ireland again! We've been lashed by storms, endured snow and -10C temperatures and almost endless rain - but finally the landscape is waking up, with a decent bit of sun at last.
This photo of An Grianán Ailigh (The Grianán of Aileach) on the Inishowen Peninsula (Donegal) is by Gareth Wrey. It was massively repaired in the 1800s but was probably built in the 6th century CE but the Uí Néill (O'Neill) on top of an existing neolithic site (tumulus and well). It is said that the origins of this impressive fort hark back to the Tuatha de Danánn, but there is little remaining evidence to prove a connection. According legend, it is closely associated with the Dagda (the Good God), one of the godly leaders of the Tuatha. After his son Aodh was killed, the Dagda had a stone fort (now known as Grianán of Aileach) built as the burial place.
The Metrical Dindshenchas, an early Irish text which describes the origins of place names, refers to this mythological tale: "A lovely spot is Ailech Gabráin, green are its boughs, on its sod the Dagda, famed in song, found a dwelling for Aed." It's interesting to note that the entrance is aligned due East, which is the correct place to view a sunrise on the vernal equinox or the autumnal equinox.
We wish you a wonderful day however you wish to celebrate.
