ART BY THALIA LIGHTBRINGER

White bright Boand
Boand ever-full
Great Silver Yoke
Stormy Wave
River of the White Hazel
Banna
Roof of the Ocean
Boand.
~ The Metrical Dindshenchas

​

   I am She. Welcome to my land. I am the Mother of Meath. My spirit flows throughout the River Bóinne and its tributaries, watering the woods and fields of the most fertile place in all of Eire. Rich pastures cover nearly three-fourths of this realm. The terrain is gentle and deep green, with no mountains and only one large lake, Lough Sheelin. The highest hill is Sheve-na-Calliagh to the west, where the limestone ridges gracefully ascend. Uplands lie to the north.

You are standing where the earliest known settlers in Ireland put down their roots. Here you will find remnants of buildings and tombs that are older than Egypt's pyramids. People have lived here for over 8,000 years. My land is called Royal Meath because for at least 500 years, ancient Irish kings lived within the stretch of my arm, at Temuir. All five provinces of Ireland meet here, which is why Meath was called Mide, meaning "centre." Aill na Mireann (The Stone of Boundaries) still stands on Uisnech hill where in ancient times a national assembly was once held every year.

There is a story of how the River Bóinne was made. It is said that Boand, wife of Nechtaine, visited his forbidden secret, sacred spring and caused it to burst open, overflowing in an angry torrent over the land to the sea. The myth claims that she was drowned, yet the people continue to honor me as a goddess. I was the life-bringer for the first people and I am still today the living source of fertility for this thriving place.

(by Flidais Niafer, from Celtia in ancientworlds.net)