Con Connor (far right) is the Arch Druid of the Dark Moon Grove, a group of druids who continue the tradition of ritual and ceremony on the Hill of Tara in Co. Meath. Animated by a sincere belief in the preservation of this ancient landscape, this group meet on the night of each full moon and perform a 'Ritual of Protection' on the hill itself, the continuation of a tradition of ceremony on the hill that began in prehistory.

Apart from the 'Ritual of Protection' which is performed monthly, the Druids also mark the various festival and feast days of the old Celtic calendar, including the Summer Solstice, Samhain and Imbolc. The next three photos and the photo above were taken on the Samhain celebration 2006 on the Hill of Tara. Samhain was the original 'New Year' of the Celtic calendar. On this night in Celtic Ireland, every house fire was put out to symbolise the death of the old year and a new flame was lit by the Druids to symbolise the birth of the new year, this 'pure flame' was then used to light a new fire in each house. This marked a new 'spiritual' beginning and the passing of the old and the negative from the previous year. Even today, people are invited to take a burning ember from the new flame, lit on the Hill of Ward (Tlaghacta) and brought to the Hill of Tara, to bring the new 'pure flame' home.

Participants gather around the new flame, the Arch Druid encourages the old and the negative to be discarded and the purity of the new flame to be welcomed in by those gathered round.

During the Samhain ceremony, the 'Ritual of Protection' is incorporated along with some contemplation on the many ills of 'Celtic Tiger' Ireland.

The ceremony takes place on a roughly circular gravel patch at the mouth of the 'Banqueting Hall', a large cursus that runs up the side of the hill of Tara, directly aligned with the prehistoric Mound of Hostages. The flame is contained in a metal basin, no traces of the ceremony are left behind and no damage is done to the hill itself during any of the ceremonies.

The monthly 'Ritual of Protection' on the Hill of Tara has also been rarely photographed, by the light of the full moon a gathering of Druids, pagans and curious agnostics perform the rituals and guided visualisations. A talk is given by Con Connor on the impending destruction of part of the Tara-Skryne Valley (the site of the ancient city and capital of the High Kings) by the double toll road and massive interchange which will blight the landscape north of the hill as well as cutting straight through the valley itself.

Even the skeptical observer could not doubt the sincerity and passion of the Druids for the protection of the Tara landsape, if nothing else the ceremony certainly does offer a tangible glimpse of Tara's past and its possible future, even a cynic would concede that the latter is a far more bleak and ugly vista.

To find out more about the Druids of the Dark Moon Grove, the Hill of Tara and valley and the various ceremonies, you can visit their website here http://www.druidschool.com

Many thanks to Con Connor for the invitation to photograph the ceremonies and to the druids for their co-operation.