Faughart or Fochart () is an area north of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

, Ireland. The Hill of Faughart is the site of early Christian church ruins and a medieval graveyard, as well as a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

to Saint Brigid. According to tradition, it was the birthplace of Saint

Brigid of Kildare Saint Brigid of Kildare or Saint Brigid of Ireland (; Classical Irish: ''Brighid''; ; ) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish ...

in 451 AD. There are ruins of an early medieval church and graveyard on Faughart Hill. There are also two

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

s and a modern shrine devoted to Saint Brigid, which attracts thousands of

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s and

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

s each year. St. Brigid's day is celebrated on 1 February. One of her

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s is held in St Brigid's Church in nearby Kilcurry. Following the 12th century

Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the List of English monarchs, monarchs of England then claimed sovere ...

, a Norman

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

was built on Faughart Hill. Its ruins survive. In 1318, the Battle of Faughart was fought here between an Irish-Scottish force led by Edward Bruce, a younger brother of Scotland's king

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

, and the Anglo-Normans. Bruce was defeated and killed in the battle, and he is buried in Faughart medieval graveyard (). Standing at the southern end of the Gap of the North/ Moyry Pass, Faughart held huge strategic importance for many centuries and was the scene of several battles; one such legendary battle was fought by

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), is an Irish warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the ...

in the ''

Táin Bó Cúailnge (Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "the Irish ''Iliad''", although like most other earl ...

''.

Battles

248 AD

A battle was fought at Faughart by Cormac Ulfada, High King of Ireland, against Storno (Starno), king of Lochlin.

732 AD

The date of 732, or alternatively 735, is given for the Battle of Fochart between

Áed Allán Áed Allán (or Áed mac Fergaile) (died 743) was an 8th-century Irish king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. Áed Allán was the son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin and a member of the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill. Ferga ...

, king of Ireland, and Áed Róin, king of

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

. Áed Róin and Conchad mac Cúanach of

Uí Echach Cobo Iveagh ( ; ) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally it was a Gaelic Irish territory, ruled by the ''Uí Echach Cobo'' and part of the overkingdom of Ulaid. From the 12th c ...

were slain, with Áed Róin being decapitated on the ''Cloch an Commaigh'' (Stone of Decapitation) located near the door of the old church of Faughart. This conflict arose as a result of a request by Bishop Congus. The

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

give the story as follows under the year 732: An Irish proverb arose from this incident: ''Torad penne Congusa'' (‘the fruit of Congus’s pen’), i.e. the downfall of the Ulaid resulted from the letter of Congus.

1318 AD

The Battle of Faughart was fought on 14 October 1318 between a Hiberno-Norman force led by John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth, and Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick and a Scots-Irish army commanded by Edward Bruce, the brother of Robert Bruce, King of Scots, who had been hailed as King of Ireland by certain Irish chiefs.

References

Sources

*Foster, R.F. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland''. Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 8
online.
* Lehane, Brendan. ''The Companion Guide to Ireland''. Companion Guides, 2001, p. 45
online.
*Lewis, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland'', vol 2. London 1837. Full tex
downloadable.Saint Brigid’s Shrine & Well Faughart
with map {{Authority control County Louth