People have been coming here for donkeys' years and they all arrive because of the river - the Boyne. About 8000 years ago, mesolithic hunter-gatherers used the river to navigate through the dense forests of Ireland. It was the only way to get around. They followed the salmon in season and camped along the clearings that the Boyne created, leaving their stone tools for archaeologists to find later on.
About 5000BC, agriculturalists arrived in the Boyne Valley and began to clear away the trees so they could see the land. They settled down, tended their crops and stored food for the winter months. This was the beginning of civilisation in Ireland. The Neolithic people built the huge ceremonial passage tombs that can be seen from the river, placing their ancestors in them and marking the territory as owners of the land. This was also the period when people began to look to the heavens. The name of the Boyne comes from the Gaelic for the white cow - the Milky Way. To the first farmers, the Boyne was a mirror of the stars that seemed to flow across the night sky. No wonder they constructed Bru na Boinne to take the calendar and the movement of the stars into account.
Being Ireland, we also have a legend for how the Boyne was created, just in case the facts are too dull. There was a queen called Boanne who was forbidden from going near the magic Well of Knowledge in Kildare, but curiosity eventually got the better of her. When she approached the well, the waters got agitated and exploded, driving her the whole way to the sea where she drowned. That is also how the famous Salmon of Knowledge came to be swimming around beneath the water until Fionn MacCumhaill got his hands on it.
Trim was one of the few spots of the river where it was possible to cross from one side to the other. The Irish name for the town translates as a river crossing point. We take bridges for granted nowadays, but back then a crossing point was the only way of getting from A to B without going all the way round to Z first. This meant that it was hotspot for people on the move.
The Christians arrived in Trim by way of the Boyne. Lomman, St Patrick's nephew and the founder of the town, arrived by boat. He converted the Gaelic chiefs here and gained control of the crossing point. The river was crucial for the trade between religious centres in Europe and it would have been very important for feeding the population that gathered around the place. Water-mills lined the banks and the town would have been busy with boats and fishermen. When the Normans arrived in Ireland, they recognised the value of Trim and the Boyne. They rented land off the church and built their great stone castle here, ensuring that the Boyne continued to be navigable so that they could import their goods around Europe. These strong links attracted religious orders like the Franciscians and Benedictines, whose abbey ruins can be viewed all along the river.
The Boyne is still the life-force of the town. People come and go but the river just rolls along, at times quiet and relaxing and at times wild and exciting. Nowadays the Boyne is used mostly for recreation rather than trade and navigation. Boyne Valley Activities have sit-on kayaks, Canadian canoes and certified paddlers who offer different activities tailor-made to suit your needs. We specialise in river-trips. We are passionate about the landscape of the Boyne Valley, whether it is the river itself, the history or the many activities to be had around the place. We want to make your stay as good as ours.
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