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Located two miles west of Armagh City. A large earthwork on the summit of a hill, Navan was known in legend as Emain Macha, ceremonial and spiritual capital of ancient Ulster, associated with tales of the warrior Cuchulainn. Emain Macha was the stronghold of the kings of Ulster from 700 BC.
Navan Fort was for 700 years the seat of power in Ulster. Named after the Princess Macha it was the court of the Red Branch Knights. It is said that the legendary Irish hero Cuchulainn spend his youth here before facing the invading army of Queen Maeve of Connaucht.
The Navan Centre replicates what the original Navan Fort is thought to have looked like.
Emain is one of a small number of sites celebrated as a prehistoric provincial capital in the early sources, the others include Tara, Co Meath (Meath, the 'middle' province), Knockaulin, Co Kildare (Leinster) and Cruachan, Co Roscommon (Connacht).
Directions
Navan Fort is signposted off A28 west of Armagh.
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