Slane Abbey

The ruins of a sixteenth-century friary and church on the Hill of Slane, where tradition holds that Saint Patrick lit a paschal fire in defiance of the high king at nearby Tara. A roofless church and a tower survive on the summit, alongside remains of a college for priests. From the top the view sweeps over the Boyne valley, taking in the great prehistoric tombs of the region. The historic and legendary associations, from early Christianity to the medieval college, layer meaning over the windswept hilltop ruins.