PROCEEDINGS. 



SUMMER PROGRAMME. 

 FIELD MEETINGS. 



20 May. 



ARMAGH. 



The Members of the B.N.F.C. held their first field meeting 

 for the year at Armagh. On arrival the party at once proceeded 

 through the city and on to the celebrated Navan Fort, or 

 Emania, the pre-Christian residence of the Kings of Ulster, 

 whose occupation extended down to the fourth century of the 

 Christian era. Overcoming the difficulties of the steep an 

 slippery ascent, the entire party assembled on the green 

 plateau forming the upper portion of this ancient monument" 

 which covers about 13 acres of ground. The noble prospect, 

 extending for a radius of very many miles all round, commanded 

 first attention. Undulating hills, winding streams, cultivated 

 fields, towns, hamlets, and villages, combined to enhance the 

 beauty, variety, and interest of the scene, and to demonstrate 

 the wisdom of the ancient Irish chiefs who selected this site 

 for the residence of their kings and the stronghold of Irish 

 Paganism. Looking directly to the east, the ancient Christian 

 city of Armagh comes prominently into view, its appropriate 

 and most conspicuous features being its two cathedrals, both 

 for the same object and lighted up by the same sunshine, which 

 helps to discover their differences — the one bright, cheerful, 

 and anticipating a future, the other solid, dignified, and 

 subdued, as by vicissitudes of time, and the effects of fire and 

 sword that so often desolated the city. 



