Through rural Meath to Dangan Castle

Swift served for thirteen years as curate of the parish of Laracor, in County Meath in north-eastern Ireland, where the rural landscape has changed little since the early 18th century, when Jonathan arrived there. To soak up that rural atmosphere and imagine his days filled with endless pastoral visits and the tedious tasks of managing the various parish estates, one must set out on a road trip along the R158 regional road, the first destination being Laracor Church with its bare stone walls and arched porch. The adjacent cemetery is moving for the beauty of its gravestones, particularly the white marble one belonging to the Browne family, which bears the Latin inscription ‘Nemo Impune Lacessit’ (‘No one provokes me with impunity’), and those dedicated to the Hanbury, Potterton, Stear, Finly and Grierson, whose coats of arms and inscriptions bear witness to the pride of the people who inhabited these places in centuries past. And then one is inevitably captivated by the aura of mystery that shrouds the walls of Dangan Castle. Although in ruins, this historic residence, where Arthur Wellesley—the future first Duke of Wellington—spent his childhood before embarking on the military career that culminated in the epic and victorious Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon Bonaparte, its stately remains clearly show that it was a sumptuous medieval residence built on a hilltop overlooking the entire surrounding landscape. Also of interest is the nearby Boyne Valley around the town of Drogheda, where you can visit St Laurence’s Gate, the Millmount monument and St Peter’s Church, as well as the nearby Hill of Tara and Trim Castle, all of which played a decisive role in the island’s history.