Eamonn Thornton & Brendan Matthews
Old Drogheda Society/Drogheda Museum, Millmount, Co. Louth
The MARS Project or the Search for Amhairgin
Millmount, the great mound that overlooks the town of Drogheda and the River Boyne, has been an extremely important site down the ages. It is believed to have first been constructed in Neolithic times, possibly even as a gateway into the sacred lands of Newgrange which are a little distance upriver. Its strategic elevated location has led to its being the focus for such varied uses as a Norman motte and bailey, a windmill, Cromwell’s campaign of terror, a Martello Tower, even a Papal Cross. Local oral tradition suggest that it may have been constructed as the burial site of Amhairgin, the man who brought poetry and music to the land that he named Ireland. The MARS Project (Millmount Archaeological Remote Sensing Project) was a community archaeological project sponsored by Drogheda Museum Millmount that attempted to discover the truth about this intriguing site and this is the story of that project.
Brendan Matthews is a Community Historian based in Drogheda Museum Millmount. Having participated in the major archaeological digs in Drogheda in recent decades he was the ideal person to oversee the MARS Project. Brendan is the author of many articles, essays, booklets based on his original historical research. His best known work is probably “The Tower of Strength” – the story of Millmount through the ages.
Eamon Thornton is former Secretary of the Old Drogheda Society and was the coordinator of its museum’s successful bid for Full Accreditation status under the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland. Drogheda Museum Millmount is still the only voluntary run museum in the country to have achieved this status.
Brendan Matthews is a Community Historian based in Drogheda Museum Millmount. Having participated in the major archaeological digs in Drogheda in recent decades he was the ideal person to oversee the MARS Project. Brendan is the author of many articles, essays, booklets based on his original historical research. His best known work is probably “The Tower of Strength” – the story of Millmount through the ages.
Eamon Thornton is former Secretary of the Old Drogheda Society and was the coordinator of its museum’s successful bid for Full Accreditation status under the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland. Drogheda Museum Millmount is still the only voluntary run museum in the country to have achieved this status.