<3> As part of Heritage Week, our school visited Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre in Kenagh. The Centre contains part of a trackway built through the bog by the Celts during the Iron Age. No one knows for certain why this road was built through the bog. Some people claim it is linked to the legend of Midir and Étáin. Others say it linked the royal site of Tara with Cruachan, Queen Maeve's dún.

What we do know is that is proves the Celts were a highly organised people and very skilled at working with wood with basic iron tools. The trackway was used very little, as there are no signs of it being worn by chariot wheels. It may only have been in use for about ten years. It lay preserved in the bog until it was discovered by Bord na Móna in 1984.

The Construction of the Trackway
The trackway was created in Corlea bog in 148 BC by the Celts. The trackway ran in a north-west / south-east direction and is made of solid oak. Iron Age wedges and axes were used. First the trees were cut down, then they were split carefully with the wedges hammered in by wooden mallets, this gave a flat even surface.

The planks were 3-4 metres in length and 65 centimetres wide and around 20centimetres thick. The planks are placed on runners to keep them from sinking in the bog. Some of the planks are fixed in position with wooden birch pegs, placed in a carved out groove. Some of the planks were so heavy, during the modern excavation six men were needed to lift them.

The estimate of the full trackway is 2 kilometres long. Only 80 metres are on view, the rest is still not excavated. The minerals in the bog preserved the trackway.

There is a connection with the trackway in Corlea Bog and the legend of Mídír and Étáin in Ardagh.
by Pádraig and Darragh

How the Timbers were Preserved.

One day Bord na Mona were harvesting peat in Corlea when the found old timbers. They were curious on how old the timbers were. So they asked the National History Museum to come and check how old they were. Dr. Barry Raftery and some archaeologists came down, hired some workers and got some diggers and started excavating.

It was back-breaking work. Each plank was numbered, and measured. Then they were stored in Lanesboro, in wet bags. Then a few months later they opened the bags, cleaned them down keeping them moist to stop disintegration. They put them in stainless steel tubs and put them in a liquid wax. After that they were sent to Portsmouth in England to be freeze dried. Finally, they were returned to Corlea and carefully put in position. by Eoghan, Seán and Dermot

The Ardagh Connection

First we briefly visited Ardagh Heritage Centre to hear the legend of Midir and Étáin. This legend is set around Brí Leíth, which is the old name for Armagh Mountain.

The Legend of Midir and Étáin.

In Celtic times, Midir was married to a lady called Fuamnach. But then he divorced Fuamnach and married Étáin who lived in the Land of Bright Shadows, but then Midir's former wife Fuamnach was jealous and turned Étáin into a fly.

A magic wind blew Étáin from Brí Léith where she lived, to the Land of Dark Shadows. Then Étáin flew in a woman's window as she was eating and fell into her goblet of wine. Then the lady swallowed the fly Étáin. Then nine months later the women gave birth to a girl whom she called Étáin.

Étáin grew up to be a beautiful woman. She then married Eochy High King of Ireland. She was very happy, but she always longed for another land. Then one night Eochy was having a big feast in his Dun and he invited everyone from around the land.

Eochy the king was very fond of chess and Midir, one of the people that had been invited challenged Eochy to 4 games of chess. If Eochy won the games Midir would have to do whatever Eochy asked him to do, and if Midir won the game he could ask for anything he wanted. Eochy won the first 3 games. He asked him to do three impossible tasks. One task was to build a road through an impassible bog and this task was done. Then Midir won the last game and Eochy told him that he could ask for anything he wanted and so he asked for one kiss from Étáin. Eochy wasn't very happy about what Midir had asked for but he said "Alright, come back in one month and then you may kiss her".

So Midir came back when the month was up but Eochy had guards out so that Midir couldn't get in but the guards were afraid of Midir because he was a strong man and they let him in. Eochy was astonished to see Midir because he thought his guards could keep him out. Midir then kissed Étáin and Eochy watched Midir and Étáin as they transformed into two snow-white swans. They rose in the air to take the starry path to Ioldathach, the Land of Bright Shadows. And after that a great silence fell on Tara and Étáin and Midir were seen no more.

It is now thought that the road that Midir built is the Corlea trackway because what he did was really a hero's task.

The Iron Age and the Celts.

It is not certain when the Celts arrived in Ireland but it was probably around 600 BC. Their iron weapons gave them an advantage over the Bronze Age people who inhabited Ireland at that time. They brought new customs and skills with them. Their iron tools made it easier to cut down trees and clear the land. They were farmers and they grew wheat, oats and barley.

They lived in circular houses inside ringforts or crannógs. The roof was thatched and had a hole in the centre to let out smoke. Sometimes they dug a souterrain underneath the house which could be used as a hiding place, or to store food. The Celts wore long tunics and a cloak over their shoulders. The rich people liked to wear jewellery.

The Celts were artistic people. Their artwork was formed with curves and spirals. They had a form of writing called ogham. It was written from the bottom to top. They had great respect for their dead and built huge tombs for them.

The Amazing Creatures and Plants that live in the Bog
We went for a walk through the bog, and the guide Noel showed us some of the plants that grow there. One of he most fascinating is the Sundew plant which attracts flies to its petals and then snaps them shut and captures the fly. Bog cotton and heather also grow there.

We then went pond dipping with the guides Noel and Joe. We saw pond skaters, water boatmen, dragonfly nymphs and whirligig beetles.