From Mullingar to Dublin

This is going to be another long day on the road, starting with the Wicklow Moutains and the monastic site Glendalough. Definitely a highlight of the trip.

Then the Boyne valley, with Trim and its castle, which was used in Braveheart (most of the Braveheart filming locations are in this valley: Bective Abbey, Saint Nicholas Church...). Outside the castle walls was transformed into the 13th century city of York which was besieged by William Wallace. The keep inside the walls became the Tower of London where he was executed in 1305.

Then Newgrange, constructed over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.), making it older than Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Newgrange was built during the Neolithic or New Stone Age by a farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley.
Archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb, however Newgrange is now recognised to be much more than a passage tomb. Ancient Temple is a more fitting classification, a place of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of prestige and worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest.