Bid to have 2012 Olympic torch stop at site of Tailteann Games

A call for the Olympic torch to stop in Meath on its visit to Ireland has been made by Meath County Council and the Kells and District Tourism Forum. The Kells forum is to make a bid to have the Olympic Torch visit Teltown, outside Kells, on its way from Newry to Dublin in advance of the London Games in 2012. Teltown is the home of the ancient Tailteann Games, which date back over 4,000 years to 1829BC, and pre-date the ancient Greek Olympic Games. The possibility of having the Olympic torch stopping in Meath was also raised by Cllr Noel Leonard at a special pre-budget meeting of Meath County Council this week. Cllr Leonard asked the county manager to contact Pat Hickey of the Olympic Council of Ireland "as soon as possible" with a view to getting the torch to stop at a location in Meath. He said the famous Tailteann Games in Meath pre-dated the Olympic Games by 1,800 years and a stopover by the torch-bearers would showcase Meath to millions of TV viewers throughout the world. "What better image could you project?" he asked, "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Meath and we should try to grasp it if we can." Cllr Leonard said he believed that the route for the torch was not yet finalised so there was a chance to get the torch to Meath. He thought Newgrange would be an outstanding location for a stopover, considering its age, but he would be happy with any other location mentioned. "All we need is for that torch to stop in Meath for 10 minutes - it would put us on the map," he added. According to Kells Tourism Forum secretary, Lucy O'Reilly, the hill of Tailtiu (modern Teltown) is one of the most important ritual landscapes in Ireland, for it was here that the celebrated Aonach Tailteann, the Lughnasa Festival, was first held. "The Games and the Festival of Lughnasa were initiated by Lugh of the Long Arm in memory of his foster mother, Tailtiu. "We know that Greek traders featured at the Tailteann Games, and that the Tailteann Games predated the ancient Olympic Games by about 500 years. Ptolemy charted the course of the Boyne River in the second century BC - showing the familiarity that the Greeks and other travelers had with the area at that time," she said. "There are clear similarities between the ancient Greek Olympics and the Tailteann Games - and we would even suggest that, in the ancient world, games such as the Greek Olympics originated here in this area in Ireland." Ms O'Reilly said it was brilliant that the Olympic Council of Ireland had fought for the torch to come to Ireland. "We suggest that it would be entirely appropriate for the torch to visit the site of the ancient Games at Tailteann on its way from Newry to Dublin. It would be a marriage of legends - the torch coming back to its possible ancestral home before moving on to London. "The Olympic Torch coming to Teltown would be a wonderful opportunity to highlight to visitors to Ireland, the amazing treasure trove of archaeology, history, myth and legend that is County Meath and the Boyne Valley," she said. Lecture Meanwhile, following the Tourism Forum's first successful lecture in Teltown House, 'Pindar at Teltown', the group is hosting a second lecture tomorrow night (Thursday) entitled 'Christmas Through The Ages' at 8pm in Headfort House. The lecture will be given by Bairbre Ní Fhloinn of the Folklore Department of UCD. The Department of Folklore's collection holds more than 1.5 million pages of material and many thousands of hours of recordings, as well as over 40,000 photographs of folklore. The entrance fee is €5 and refreshments will be served.