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The Rolling Sun

Every year on April 18th and August 24th – on a clear day – a phenomenon known as the ‘Rolling Sun’ occurs when Croagh Patrick is viewed from the ancient stone at Boheh. This spectacle involves the sun tracing the western edge of the north face as though it is ‘rolling’ down the mountain. The two dates on which this occurs may be combined with the date of the winter solstice to split the year into three more or less equal parts. This may correspond to the sowing and reaping cycles even in contemporary civilizations. However, the significance attached to it by ancient civilization may never be fully understood.

The Boheh Stone
The Boheh Stone

Experts believe that the theory of crop production related to the Boheh stone and wonder about the relationship between the setting sun, the triangle of the mountain and the decorations found even today on the Boheh.

Looking east from just below the summit, towards the Boheh Stone
Looking east from just below the summit, towards the Boheh Stone

As Gerry Bracken, who first identified the ‘rolling sun’ phenomenon, points out, the Boheh Stone is an unremarkable mass of fractured rock that probably only escaped demolition because of its association with Saint Patrick (it is on the Tochar Phadraig trail that runs from Ballintubber Abbey to Croagh Patrick). On closer examination, archaeologists noted that the rock designs predated Patrick by at least two thousand years.

The Rolling Sun
The Rolling Sun – GIF image courtesy of Ken Williams

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