In 433 AD St. Patrick lit a fire on Hill of Slane, in an act of defiance of the pagan High King Lóegaire (Laoire), according to the monk Muirchú’s highly mythological 7th century hagiography of St. Patrick, Vita sancti Patricii.

Lóegaire had forbidden any other fires while a festival fire was burning at his headquarters on the Hill Tara, which can be clearly seen from the Hill of Slane, about 16 kilometers (about 10 miles) away, according to Muirchú’s account.

Other accounts of the life of St. Patrick describe various versions of what happened after the saint lit his defiant fire. The accounts agree that Lóegaire apparently allowed St. Patrick, who he had reportedly been trying to assassinate, to continue spreading the word of Christianity in Ireland.

In another legendary act, St. Patrick would later in his life baptize two of Laoghaire’s daughters, Eithne the Fair and Fedelm the Red at Rathcroghan’s Ogulla Holy Well in County Roscommon.

Today the Hill of Slane is dominated by a group of picturesque ruins and historical sites, most dating to the middle ages.

The ruins of a friary church, with a still in use graveyard, and college can be seen on the top of the hill. The now ruined friary church was built on the site of an earlier church, was restored in 1512. The ruins include a 19-meter (62 ft) high early gothic tower.

The friary was abandoned in 1723.

A holy well, now filled in with rocks due to safety concerns, is located just inside the graveyard’s wall.

At this well, Patrick is said to have baptized St. Erc, a pagan priest, who he appointed a bishop. The foundation of the original monastery on the Hill of Slane is attributed to St. Erc and it remained active for at least six hundred years.

The baptism and life of St. Erc are on firmer historical footing than many of St. Patrick’s mythical exploits such as driving the snakes out of Ireland.

Next to the friary church is a structure known as the college.

These ruins are from different phases of construction and various purposes, according to the Voice From Dawn website.

From Voice of Dawn:
“The earliest building, likely a tower house, is now known as the “rectory,” and was used for the administration of the parish. In the late 15th century a chantry college was built on the site, endowed for priests to celebrate masses for the souls of the Fleming family. The structure housed four priests, four lay-brothers and four choirboys in some comfort, with fireplaces and a double garderobe (toilet). The buildings were situated around an open rectangular cloister.

The college was rebuilt in the 16th century with a further Fleming family bequest, There was once a bawn (defensive enclosure) around the tower house, whose only remnant today is its massive gatehouse.”
https://voicesfromthedawn.com/hill-of-slane/

Over the centuries the site endured numerous attacks and tribulations including dissolution of the monastery by Henry VIII in 1631 and attacks by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1651.

Sources and links:
Discovery Boyne Valley
https://www.discoverboynevalley.ie/boyne-valley-drive/heritage-sites/hill-slane

Voices From Dawn
https://voicesfromthedawn.com/hill-of-slane/

Slane and District History Society
https://slanehistoryandarchaeologysociety823029674.wordpress.com/

Meath County Council – Hill of Slane
https://www.meath.ie/discover/heritage/heritage-sites/hill-of-slane

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