At around a million people, Ireland is one of the smallest countries in the European Union. Yet this island of green is dense with rich layers of history, legend, folk sagas, heroes and villains, saints and spirits, colonization, skirmishes, uprisings, famines, plagues and wars of independence. Most have left artifacts, some sort of visual evidence that story this land.
These sacred places, anointed by reason of age, mystery, longevity or some sublime design, seem to be everywhere in Ireland. This is attested to by a careful scrutiny of any 1 inch-to-1 kilometer Discovery Series map. Barrows, raths , standing stones, holy wells, abbeys, hermitages, monasteries, famine and battle sites, notable birthplaces and monuments are densely arrayed across the land.
