54 Ihc Bnyne Valley. 



Norman power, as it had previously been of Irish. This unique 

 and lovely vale, so dear to students of Irish history and archae- 

 ology, is now most accessible from evey part of the British 

 Isles. Travellers from Belfast or the North proceed to 

 Drogheda, from whence, in the summer months, there are 

 public conveyances provided by the Great Northern Railway 

 Company. The distance from Drogheda to Navan is seventeen 

 miles, Slane being about midway, and a convenient resting 

 place ; Navan to Trim is twelve miles, and from thence to 

 Clonard fourteen miles, which covers all the points of greatest 

 interest. The River Blackwater, the ancient Sele, joins the 

 Boyne at Navan, and in its course of twenty miles from Lough 

 Ramor, in County Cavan, passes several places of great historic 

 interest. In sylvan beauty, rare monuments of past ages, and 

 historic interest, the valleys of the Boyne and Blackwater stand 

 in the foremost rank of Irish river valleys. Scattered along the 

 Valley of the Boyne are relics of every age, from the Belgae 

 or Firbolgs, i,ooo B.C., down to the present century — a period 

 of about 3,000 years. These consist of cairns, cromleachs, 

 chambered pyramids, pillar stones, kistvaens, souterraines, raths, 

 duns, Hsses, and all classes of earthen forts. Of the early 

 Christian period, Celtic churches and hermitages, dating from 

 almost the time of Saint Patrick ; round towers, sculptured 

 crosses, and moasteries ; Anglo-Norman castles in great numbers, 

 dating from the end of the twelfth century, and other relics of 

 early Norman power. The Boyne rises at Trinity Well, close 

 by the village of Carbury, in County Kildare, four miles from the 

 town of Edenderry. It flows through King's County for a few 

 miles, next becomes the boundary between Meath and Kildare, 

 then enters Meath, through which it flows until it empties into 

 the sea four miles east of Drogheda, as already stated, a total 

 distance of seventy miles. It receives several rivers in its 

 course, the principal one being the Blackwater, already 

 mentioned. Many remarkable events have occurred in the 

 Boyne Valley, not the least of which was the arrival of St. 

 Patrick to preach the; Gospel to the King and nobles and 



