Knocknarea Knocknarea, is often translated as 'Mountain of the Moon' (‘Knock’ meaning hill or mountain and Ré ' meaning ‘moon’.) It is believed that here lies the grave of Queen Maeve.
Maeve was the warrior Queen of Connacht in Celtic mythology. The story of part of her reign is recorded in the ‘Táin Bó Cúailnge’ (The cattle raid of Cooley) a late 11th Century manuscript. Because of the weapons and animals in the story, some commentators regard Queen Maeve as an Iron Age figure. Maeve is reputedly entombed in the Knocknarea cairn in an erect position, in full battle regalia, facing northward toward her Ulster enemies. Although passage tombs are dated to the Neolithic era, there is evidence of the re-usage of such tombs (including burials) in the Bronze and Iron ages, which may provide some comfort to those who believe Queen Maeve is still inside Miosgán Medbh.
