Dun Ailinne focus on Heritage Day

Heritage Day is Sunday September 11, and will be marked by a seminar on Dun Ailinne, at the Town Hall Heritage Centre, beginning at 10.30 am.



RTE recently screened a first rate documentary on Ireland's prehistory, 'In Search of Ancient Ireland', Wed 10 August, writes Des Travers of Kilcullen Heritage Group, in which it drew on all of the available resources to give viewers a sense of what Ireland was like at the dawn of time. These included archeologists, historians, folklorists,  paleontologists and specialists on such varied subjects as the study of ancient climate (from the analyses of fossilised trees found in bogs) or of musical instruments of that time. It all helped to give a most fascinating account of our ancestors, who, according to the programme, were almost certainly not Celts!
 
Two areas in the main were the subject of discussion during the programme: the royal sites and the ancient routes that have recenty been unearthed, especilly along the Esker Riada. This route may have been a 'way' which linked two of these royal sites.


 
Of the royal sites discussed and visited were Tara, Knoc Cruachain (Co Roscommon), and Amhain Macha (Navan Fort, Armagh). These sites were also referred to on numerous occasions by the narrator. There was no mention of Dun Ailinne, the Royal Site of Leinster here in Kilcullen, locally known as Knockaulin.
 
Dun Ailinne is very significant in its own way as a Royal Site. It is the largest pre-Norman earthen enclosure in Ireland, covering some 44 acres. The ditch or 'henge' which circumscribes it is the best preserved and largest such feature in Ireland. 
 


It is difficult to explain Dun Ailinne's absence from the account of the period as it is linked in various ways to the story that the documentary unfolded. The documentary for example, showed that approximately 100 BC there was a period of great unrest here and worldwide. It was a period of 'cold', of 'darkness' with a consequent loss of crops and food. This gave rise to social unrest and conflict.
 
During that approximate period a tower-like structure was erected on the apex of the Dun Ailinne site. From such a structure it would be possible to observe the Royal Site of Tara 28.5 miles (50 kms) away. Was this a means of signalling in time of attack? We do not know. There is much evidence of fires being lit at the base of the tower and these fires occurred with greater frequency and intensity than anywere else within the royal site. It could be presumed that signalling  by fire is likely to have occurred at both sites.
 


There are other questions as yet unresolved regarding Dun Ailinne. How did a society then succeed in excavating 30,000 tons of rock and shale to create this ditch? What purpose did the ditch have? Where did they put the spoil?
 
The failure to mention Dun Ailinne may possibly be explained by the absence of research or interest in it since the Wailes excavations of 1968-74. Is it not time to address this matter for the benefit of all of us? After all, Dun Ailinne is the most important heritage site in Kildare and as one of the "Cuige" of Ireland it is a national monument in its own right.
 
The seminar on Sept 11 hopes to raise awareness of these issues.