Westmeath at the heart of the Mythlands

The Irish imagination has always been fired by tales of ancient gods, vengeful heroes, malignant faeries, beautiful mortals, epic battles and dangerous quests.Now, a new exhibition, 'The Wonder of Ireland' which will explore these native myths is to be launched by Deputy Eamonn Ryan, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources at Belvedere House Gardens and Park..'The staging of these exhibitions in the area is hugely important in generating awareness of the rich vein of heritage that exists in Westmeath and the greater midland,' explains Belvedere General Manager Bartle D"Arcy.' A great many important Irish legends are associated with landmarks in Westmeath. Lough Derravaragh and the Children of Lir, Castlepollard"s Irish name Cionn Torc is named after the boar that gored Diarmuid while out hunting with Fionn and the epics the Toraiocht and the Tain both have associated sites in the county.The Exhibition at Belvedere, which is a joint project by Belvedere House and Bard Mythologies tells the stories of the first settlers of Ireland - the Fir Bolg - the arrival of the Tuatha De Dannann, the two battles of Moytura and the legend of Midir and Etain.'The exhibition is a follow on from a lecture series "Through Nine Waves" held at Belvedere from last autumn to this summer which explored pre-Celtic myths and their relevance to the lives we live today,' says Mr D"Arcy.'The Wonder of Ireland' will be followed by a second exhibition at Fore Abbey Coffee Shop in North Westmeath.That exhibition will focus on telling the story of The Children of Lir, Amerghin and the arrival of the Millesians (Celts) and Balor of the evil eye, tyrant leader of the Fomorri.'We hope to develop the concept of "The Mythlands" further so as to appeal to US incoming tour operators and also have plans for festival type events and re enactments in the future,' Mr. D"Arcy says.'Working with Sandy Dunlop from Bard Mythologies has been fantastic in bringing this concept to life.'Belvedere House looks out across Lough Ennel and the remains of an ancient seat of a High King of Ireland, Malachy, who had his royal residence on a crannog there. The Hill of Uisneach, another local feature, was also, in ancient times considered the centre of Ireland and lay on an important trading intersection.Just beyond the county border are the megalithic cairns at Lough Crew and the site of the battle of Tailteann at Teltown near Kells.The current exhibitions will run until the end of October and are part of a series with upcoming exhibitions featuring Fionn and The Fenian Cycle and Cuchullain and The Ulster Cycle.Both exhibitions are free to visit and will feature in the 2009 Heritage Week programme.