MICHAEL: Hello and welcome to Ireland with Michael.

I'm Michael Londra and, in this show, I get to tell you everything I love about my home country, the best way I know how, through music.

Today, join me as we step into a world where history whispers through the hills and ancient legends linger in the air.

Ireland's Ancient East is a land of myth and mystery.

Together, we'll wander through dramatic landscapes and uncover tales of pagan kings.

Our journey promises a blend of adventure and enchantment.

In a moment, together, we'll chase the stories written in stone as Ireland's Ancient East is calling.

♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael is made possible by- ♪ ANNOUNCER: The music, the folklore, and the hospitality.

It's all in Ireland.

ANNOUNCER: Since 1932, CIE Tours has welcomed travelers to discover Ireland's rolling green landscapes, cherished traditions, and Irish hospitality, creating memories that last a lifetime.

CIE Tours, where every journey becomes a story.

♪ MICHAEL: County Meath holds a special place in my heart.

Why?

It's where the use of the fiddle, so common in today's Irish music, got its boost.

The interaction between pipes, harps, and the fiddle are reflective of the confluence of life here.

The farmers, the merchants, the generations of Irish and the newcomers, the Normans, all come together and in their own way, make the rhythm of County Meath lively and engaging.

♪ MICHAEL: David, you're the expert of all things County Meath.

And I always think of this county as being similar to Wexford in that people outside of the country don't know a lot about our counties.

I'd love you to give me an overview of the gorgeous county that Meath is.

DAVID: Well, first of all, you're very welcome here, Michael.

MICHAEL: Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

It's nice to be- DAVID: It's great you've come to have- to meet with us.

So, County Meath, it's- it- it is as you see it today, but in the past it has a tremendous history behind it and a tremendous future, obviously, in front of it.

We're standing here in Tara, the Hill of Tara.

So, the Hill of Tara is the heart or the soul of County Meath, and indeed you could argue is the soul of Ireland.

So, you're seeing it here and it- it- it echoes, its heartbeat echoes through time and continues to do that.

But County Meath itself is a fabulous place.

It's one of the largest counties in County Meath, just on the periphery of Dublin.

So it's in the greater Dublin metropolitan area, but it also splits very evenly between a rural and an urban divide.

So you have that kind of experience and opportunity to see kind of a bit of rural Ireland with the comforts of home.

So then, when you're looking at it from a historical point of view, the easiest way to think about County Meath and the River Boyne, of course, that's the most symbolic part of the county.

Every significant event that took place in Europe in the last 5,000 years have left its fingerprints or indeed its boot prints here in County Meath.

You know you have- mythological Ireland is present here, historical Ireland is present here, ecclesiastical Ireland is present here.

All of the- all of the invaders left their footprints here and all the locals, of course, are still here.

But what you have is a huge conglomeration of mergings of history and culture and expression, and it leaves- it is a huge fingerprint in the landscape of County Meath.

MICHAEL: You're about, what, we're standing about an hour's drive from Dublin City?

DAVID: Absolutely.

So, we have the waterway just beside us.

It- it- it- leads you straight into Dublin.

The River Boyne, of course, is- is- is the most significant kind of thread that runs through our whole area.

It links County Kildare, which is on our- on our southern- southern border, we'd say.

Flows for at least the last 10,000 years in the same manner, the same route.

We know that because what was built on its banks 5,000 years ago is still there.

So you're talking about Newgrange, you're talking about Knowth, you're talking about Dowth.

They're still on the banks of the River Boyne.

The River Boyne has flowed through Meath since the ice age 10,000 years ago, carving its way deep into the landscape, into the heart, into the story of County Meath.

MICHAEL: Let's jump back to five- or six-thousand years ago.

Give me a condensed history of the Hill of Tara.

DAVID: The people who established the Hill of Tara came from the mists of time, the Tuatha Dé Danann.

They came from- from- from a mysterious place, and they came and they settled in Ireland.

They left one of the most significant artifacts here on the Hill of Tara, which is the Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny, the coronation stone of Irish kings.

♪ MICHAEL: Here at the Hill of Tara stands this intriguing curiosity, the Stone of Destiny.

It's also known as the Speaking Stone.

Irish mythology tells us, at this stone, the High Kings of Ireland were crowned and when a rightful king placed his feet upon it, it would cry out in recognition of the king's newly gained authority.

Now, while we don't hear that roar today, what we do hear is the music with roots that date back to the same iron period of 500 AD.

♪ During the Bronze Age, Christianity was not yet established here or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

It was the Roman Empire, much later in history, that established the Christian religion.

But little did anyone know, when Christianity finally arrived here in Ireland, it would be best explained by something long abundant in the fields here and across much of the countryside.

Now, as you well know, Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

When he came here to the Hill of Tara in 432 AD to ask the pagan king for permission to spread Christianity, it's told in grade schools here that he reached down and plucked a shamrock, much like the clover I have in my hand.

And with the shamrock in his hand, Saint Patrick went on to explain the leafs were like Christian Trinity: the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Today, Ireland is not quite the Catholic country it once was, but close to 70% who live here on this island identify with the Catholic Church.

♪ Just a short distance from the Hill of Tara is an ancient monument complex called Brú na Bóinne.

From above looking down, or cocking your head and looking at it from a distance, in the pastures painted with as many colors green as you can imagine is an oddity to us, but one that reflects our ancestors' connections to the stars above.

Anthony, I'm not quite sure how somebody gathers expertise in archaeology, mythology, and astronomic alignment, but I hear that you are quite the expert on that- those- all of those subjects here in Ireland.

Give me an overview of the magical site that is Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth.

ANTHONY: Yeah, so, collectively we call those Brú na Bóinne.

It's an exceptional, monumental landscape.

They constitute the largest stone monuments ever built in Ireland, and some of the largest and the most impressive ever built in Europe actually.

They're more than 5,000 years old.

They're each something in the order of 85 to 90 meters in diameter.

Each of them contains approximately a-quarter-of-a-million tonnes of stone.

And they were built in an era where, basically, technology didn't exist.

Before metal, before mechanized agriculture and you know, mechanized construction.

Before, as we understand it, you know, the complex language of today.

These were people who were farmers, first and foremost, and who lived short lives.

MICHAEL: What I'd love you to do now is make me understand how this all applies to the mythology of Ireland, and how that is such a fascination now for you and for, obviously, the many thousands of people who come to mythicalireland.com.

ANTHONY: These myths and legends were only written down within the last thousand years.

They're only written down in the Middle Ages.

But my contention is that they existed in oral form for centuries and even millennia before that.

And encoded within the myths and legends associated with Newgrange, in particular Newgrange, there's a myth about Newgrange that says that the sun god went in there to mate with Boann, the goddess.

And in order to do so, they had to make the Sun stand still in the sky.

And for me, that's just an- a mythological description of the solstice.

♪ MICHAEL: You know, I'm breathless from climbing to the top of that structure.

But what really takes my breath away is just how old it is.

At 5,200 years, it's older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids at Giza.

Ah, but the real magic begins at summer solstice.

♪ Because of the Earth's annual tilt, something quite advanced happens here during summer and winter solstices.

What happens in the summer is even more dramatic during the winter.

On that December day, the shortest day of daylight, a narrow beam of sunlight penetrates an opening up top.

♪ It races 62 feet down, and for up to 17 minutes on that one day, the central chamber is fully illuminated.

Evidence of early understanding of not only astronomy, but also advanced engineering.

There's a symbol here that suggests infinity.

See those endless circles?

It tells us that my ancestors were aware of the expanse of not just the land here in Ireland, but of the world and the universe.

This circular symbol survives today, not only etched in history, but also you'll find this on everything from road signs to our money.

The symbol also signifies a larger regard for the natural beauty found here.

It helps explain why the names of some locations have a deep meaning and are not just a name.

♪ Boann is the name of an Irish goddess.

The deity of the River Boyne, she is also the symbol of knowledge, fertility, and poetry.

Legend has it, Boann created the Boyne River by challenging the Well of Segais, a sacred well known for granting wisdom.

Today, there's a twist on goddess Boann's influence.

It's a celebrated single pot still whiskey.

So, in a nod to her poetry, we raise a glass to gifts so grand, from knowledge, verse, and fertile land, for in each crop a story lies, a whiskey here born neath watchful eyes.

♪ So, Peter, I guess it's all very well to buy a bottle of whiskey when you're here, but I've heard about a program in this part of your distillery where you can actually buy a whole cask.

PETER: You can indeed.

MICHAEL: Tell me about that.

PETER: Yeah, so, we could sell you a cask, and you can keep it as an investment and sell it on, you know, make some money, or you can bottle it yourself, put your nice label on it, or we'll do a label for you, and you can gift it to your families and friends or business partners.

MICHAEL: That's a great idea.

PETER: Yeah, absolutely.

So it's your own whiskey, it's unique, nothing else like it in the world.

MICHAEL: And how specific can you get?

Like, if you like a particular type of whiskey, can you choose that?

PETER: Yeah, so, like, looking at some of these, this is a mizunara, Japanese oak, quite expensive.

This is a Brandy de Jerez, Cardenal Mendoza, so like Spanish brandy.

Rivesaltes from the Languedoc-Roussillon.

♪ MICHAEL: Peter, this is going to be my favorite part of the afternoon, the tasting.

Everybody knows that I love pot still whiskey, and this looks like a pretty special one.

PETER: So you're fond of a drop?

MICHAEL: Just the occasional drop.

Medicinal reasons, of course.

PETER: Yeah, absolutely, always, always.

This is a special one.

This is cask number one.

We'll never bottle this, and essentially this is for us just to drink and share with good people.

MICHAEL: Okay, well I'm- I'm good.

PETER: Yeah, good.

So, you can see on the label, it's cask number one, and it's filled into a NEOC, which is- essentially, it's a new-era oak cask.

So it's a special cask.

It's from the Premier Cru Classé in Bordeaux, a very famous winery called Chateau Mouton Rothschild.

So high-end stuff.

We filled this on the 21st of December.

Boann Distillery, we align ourselves with the Sun, Moon, and stars.

This is the winter solstice, and it was when we filled our first casks.

So this is the oldest whiskey we have on site.

It's five-and-a-half years old.

MICHAEL: Well, Peter, the proof is in the tasting, so let's give it a shot.

PETER: Let's have a drop.

Or as you say, a drop-een.

MICHAEL: A drop-een.

A little drop.

PETER: A drop-een.

A little drop.

MICHAEL: Not that little now.

(Peter laughs) MICHAEL: Cheers to you.

Sláinte.

♪ That is absolutely gorgeous.

It's a special flavor that I haven't tasted in a pot still before.

PETER: That's what we do here.

We're distilling the flavors of the landscape.

♪ MICHAEL: Lads, I can't believe that I am here with ye, the great family at the heart of this distillery, drinking your whiskey.

One of your whiskeys, probably your hallmark whiskey, the Whistler.

PATRICK: Yeah.

MICHAEL: So, tell us a bit more about that.

Why the Whistler?

PATRICK: Well, it's kind of a little story in itself.

I suppose, when I was a chap, when I was a young fella, there was no radio, there was no phone, there was no nothing.

So if you're digging a garden or doing something, you'd be whistling to yourself.

Or if you're walking on the farm, or you were listening to a farm laborer, you'd be listening to himself as he's walking.

So I kind of whistled most of my life.

MICHAEL: Well, there's a real tradition of what we call mouth music in Ireland, be it singing tunes, because nobody had instruments, or whistling them.

PATRICK: Or telling stories.

MICHAEL: Yeah, or telling stories, as well.

PATRICK: Yeah, all of that.

MICHAEL: But once we have the whiskey here, and the two of you are the expert whistlers, I mean, we can't get away with just walking away.

You'll have to give us now a tune, will you?

PATRICK: We'll do the best we can.

MICHAEL: All right, off you go.

Quick sup first.

(glasses clink) PATRICK: Wet the whistle.

[Patrick Cooney and James Cooney whistle] [Patrick Cooney and James Cooney whistle] [Patrick Cooney and James Cooney whistle] [Patrick Cooney and James Cooney whistle] PATRICK: That's that.

MICHAEL: Lads!

That was gorgeous.

(James laughs) Sláinte.

♪ Records that would tell us about the history of whiskey are, well, a little hazy.

And not just because of the liquor.

But indeed little was written about such things.

But historians believe that Irish monks began distilling spirits around the 12th century, about the same time construction began on one of Ireland's most iconic structures.

And here in County Meath, we come across a testament to the Anglo-Norman power.

This is Trim Castle.

For a structure that dates back to the late 12th century, it is remarkably well preserved.

Now, you might say to yourself, have I seen this before?

Maybe in a movie?

Well, you have.

The castle's impressive three-story tower, its moat that encompasses almost three acres, all of this was used by filmmakers who wanted backdrops of both English and Scottish castles for their 1995 Oscar-winning movie, Braveheart.

♪ This tower is known as a keep.

It was highly unusual at the time because of its experimental design.

It was built with a cruciform shape that gives the tower twenty sides.

The unusual form was strictly for a military advantage.

It gave defenders inside endless vantage points to fight off attackers, and the narrow windows confounded archers' arrows.

♪ Niall, I'm trying to think of the last time that I saw you, but I know for a fact that the last time Ireland with Michael viewers saw you, you were playing a trumpet in Kilmainham Gaol in Season One.

NIALL: I, yes, correct.

I believe I was the last inmate in that jail to visit and perform trumpet.

MICHAEL: Well, I'm glad they let you out.

And now we find ourselves up north of Dublin in County Meath in this great town because you are somehow connected to the castle behind me.

Would you mind telling me how?

NIALL: So, Michael, we are standing in front of the beautiful Trim Castle, which is also known as King John's Castle to the locals.

So, what we are doing every August, we are hosting the King John Summer Prom, which is the largest orchestral gathering in the country, a small festival over three days.

And we have huge events happening from a 25-piece orchestra right up to a 65-piece orchestra, with incredible guest vocalists, artists, and much, much more.

MICHAEL: And so, what's- how- how do you- A, how do you invent an orchestral festival, and where do you put it?

NIALL: So just behind the castle, we have what we call the Porchfields.

And we've got a huge big-top tent, like a very, very big circus tent.

MICHAEL: Oh, yeah?

NIALL: But it holds 2,000 people.

♪ So, we get the drawing board, we figure out what do people want, how do we make it family friendly, and how we can tick all the boxes to make it accessible for everyone, and very entertaining.

So we have afternoon shows, we are doing iconic movie music, we are doing a family-fun orchestral show, adventures through the orchestral realm from Disney to Marvel to Beethoven, and we finish with a tribute act.

So that's how we are setting with the festival this year.

MICHAEL: Now, I know one of your nights, and of course, I am going to be that guy who asks about traditional music.

So, you're doing an orchestral traditional night, is that right?

NIALL: We are.

We have reimagined the most amazing Irish songs, the traditional Irish songs, contemporary Irish songs.

We are merging old traditional instruments, violin, uilleann pipes, whistles, bodhrán, with a modern orchestra, and we're merging the two.

We're going to create a brand-new show called Voyage - Ireland in Song.

(Shóna singing in Gaelic) NIALL: I didn't have to look very far when I was looking for an incredible vocalist.

In fact, the show idea came to me when Shóna and I were performing in the States.

And at the end of the show, Shóna would come out and sing "The Parting Glass."

MICHAEL: Nice.

NIALL: It would be an instant standing ovation.

MICHAEL: Yes.

NIALL: So who better to include on the show than a lady with such an incredible voice.

♪ MICHAEL: Shóna Henneberry, yes, Niall's wife, takes us back with a traditional song, "The Foggy Dew."

It's a rebel ballad primarily about the 1916 Easter Rising, when us Irish rose up against British rule.

Again.

♪ As down the glen one Easter morn ♪ ♪ To a city fair rode I ♪ There armed lines of marching men ♪ ♪ In squadrons passed me by ♪ ♪ No pipe did hum no battle drum ♪ ♪ To sound its loud tattoo ♪ ♪ But the Angelus BellS o'er the Liffey's swells ♪ ♪ Rang out in the foggy dew!

♪ ♪ ♪ Right proudly high in Dublin Town ♪ ♪ They hung out their flag of war ♪ ♪ It was better to die 'neath the Irish sky ♪ ♪ Than at Suvla or Sud-el-Bar ♪ ♪ And from the plains of Royal Meath ♪ ♪ Strong men came hurrying through ♪ ♪ While Britannia's Huns with their long-range guns ♪ ♪ Sailed in through the foggy dew!

♪ ♪ Sailed in through the foggy dew ♪ MICHAEL: Thanks for joining me on my travels around Ireland's Ancient East.

I'm Michael Londra, and I hope to see you next time on Ireland with Michael.

But for now, cheers.

Sláinte.

ANNOUNCER: Want to continue your travels to Ireland?

Your choice of the Ireland with Michael DVD, Seasons 1 and 2 or Seasons 3 and 4, with bonus concert footage is available for $30.

Ireland with Michael, a musical journey CD with songs from Michael and his guest artists, is available for $20.

The Ireland with Michael companion travel book, featuring places to visit as seen in all seasons, is also available for $30.

This offer is made by Wexford House.

Shipping and handling is not included.

MICHAEL: To learn more about everything you've seen in this episode, go to IrelandWithMichael.com.

ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael was made possible by- ♪ ANNOUNCER: The music, the folklore, and the hospitality.

It's all in Ireland.

ANNOUNCER: Since 1932, CIE Tours has welcomed travelers to discover Ireland's rolling green landscapes, cherished traditions, and Irish hospitality, creating memories that last a lifetime.

CIE Tours, where every journey becomes a story.

MICHAEL: Okay, put your hands up in the air!

Come on, let's get a-wavin'!

♪ In my heart, its rightful queen ♪ ♪ Ever loving ♪ Ever tender That's it!

♪ Ever true ♪ Like the Sun, your smile has shone ♪ Go on, Wexford!

♪ Gladdening all it glowed upon ♪ ♪ ♪