- Ritual and the Druids -
The national nature of the assembly is here made clear, and the reference to the laws
tallies well with Caesar's observations (O'Grady 1982: 319, Irish text). In The Taboos
of the Kings of Ireland we learn:
For when those kings consumed the Feast of Tara they used to settle the affairs
of Ireland for seven years, so that debts, suits and adjustments used not to be
submitted for judgment until the next feast seven years later. [Ar in tan no tom-
litis in rlgh sin feiss Temruch no gletis dona Herenn co secht mbliadna cona
fuighlitis ffacho na fechthemnusa na coiccerta cusin feiss n-aile iar secht
mblfadna].
(Dillon 1951: 25)
The whole subject of Old Irish geiss, 'prohibition' (Welsh tyghet) and buada or ada,
'prescriptions', is archaic and essentially druidic. Traces of it appear on the
Chamalieres tablet.Emain Macha
An important assembly was held at Samain here, the seat of the kings of the Ulaidh,
modern Ulster, the centre of the province. It lasted for a week, and horse-racing was
an important feature. Here the goddess Macha, who has clear equine aspects, raced
the horses of the king, only to die afterwards giving birth to twins or triplets. This
6enach was said to have been established in her honour. In Scela Chonchobuir it is
recorded that:
It was Conchobar himself who would give the Samain feast to them because of
the assembly of the great host. It was necessary to provide for the great crowd
because every Ulsterman who did not come to Emain Macha on Samain night
would be deprived of his senses and his grave and his standing-stone would be
put in place on the next day. [Conchobor im fessin no gaibed in samuin d6ib
fo dagin, terchomraic in tsluaig m6ir. Ba hecen in tsochaide m6r do airichill. fo
bith cech fer do Ultaib na tairchebad aidchi samna dochum nEmna. no gatta
ciall de 7focherte-a fert 7 a lecht 7 a lecht 7 a lie arnabarach].
(Book of Leinster 1,402: Best and O'Brien 1956)
Samain, then, was a time of danger when the magic of the druids was required to
control the hostility of the Otherworld beings by chanting and by sacrifice, spells
and apotropaic formulae. A great assembly also took place at Tlachtga in modern
County Meath at this season. Tlachtga was the daughter of the powerful druid Mug
Ruith, originally a deity according to O'Rahilly (1946: 519). The ancient assembly
site bearing her name is at the Hill of Ward, near Athboy.Imbolc or Oimelc
This ancient name for the second festival of the pagan Celtic year has been discussed
by Eric Hamp (1979). The word seems to mean 'purification', and the festival took
place on the eve of 1 February and on the day itself, at a time when the sheep and
other animals were beginning to lactate. Imbolc was sacred to the threefold Irish