'There are centuries of wisdom there': Seán Boylan on absorbing the energy of the Hill of Tara
Former GAA football manager and herbalist Sean Boylan speaking to Tommy Tiernan
Former Meath football manager Seán Boylan captured imaginations with a discussion about the hill of Tara on the Tommy Tiernan Show on Saturday night.
Boylan, 77, whose ancestors came from the area around Tara, spoke about the power he senses in the ground at the ancient site in Co Meath and the connection he feels to the county.
“The Apaches have a great saying: ‘We are who we are, but we are who we were, also,’” he told Tiernan.
“You can actually go there, and there’s people who walk it every day, and you can stand on the hill or any part of it and you can turn towards Slane, over towards Rossnaree. That energy is there and it becomes part of you. It helps to root you and it helps to earth you and it keeps you from getting too many notions about yourself.”
Among the viewers enchanted by the conversation unfolding on the show was menswear designer and former Kerry GAA player Paul Galvin, who tweeted: “Sean Boylan is the High King Of Ireland and @Tommedian is a Druid.”
"It helps to root you and it helps to earth you and it keeps you from getting too many notions about yourself."
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 6, 2021
Sean Boylan talks about the power of the Hill of Tara#TommyTiernanShow @Tommedian @RTEPlayer pic.twitter.com/GjQyvHy9yr
Boylan’s father, also called Seán, was born in 1880 and was a prominent member of the IRA in Co. Meath during the Irish War of Independence and he said generations of his family were caught up in Ireland’s struggles.
“Right beside, on the Dunslaney road from Tara, my great-great-grandparents came from there. The house was burnt in ‘98 and they came to live in Dunboyne and they were attacked in Dunboyne as well,” he said.
“They were 85 when the house was burnt to the ground and the house where my grandparents came to, that was burnt as well. My great-great-grandmother’s people were evicted off a farm the day after they paid the rent in ‘98 and the funny thing about it is that you didn’t hold animosity for the people.”
The GAA legend said people are drawn to Meath as the land holds centuries of knowledge.
“There was a pride of place that was there. That sense of place is a huge thing. There’s certain things you can’t take out of it, you can’t change. You can’t take the Boyne Valley out of it, you can’t take Slane, you can’t take Oldcastle, you can’t take Loughcrew. There are centuries of wisdom there. We might not all have been able to absorb it but at least it was there for us to take the energy in and I like that about the county. There’s so many Dublin people living in Meath now and they’re part and parcel of the community and that’s the way it is and that’s the way it should be and you’d hope that that would continue.”
A traditional medical herbalist, Boylan said the herbs he takes are those that were passed down through the generations since his ancestors were herbalists at Tara.
“My great-grandparents came from Tara and for hundreds of years before that they were herbalists on Tara. There were seven or eight herbs that have been handed down since the 13th century. There’s a herb called parsley piert, it’s native of Skellig Michael since the 10th century and I take some of that every day. Horsetail, I take some of that as well. There’s a herb called oxeye daisy and it regenerates tissue.”
Boylan, who tested positive for Covid-19 in March 2020 and spent most of that month in hospital, said the last 12 months have made him more determined to protect his health and ensure he lives for many more years.
“Does the lockdown suit me? No it doesn’t, but it’s been good for me. It makes you think about things, about your vulnerability and make you understand you’d like to have a cut at it for another while.”
