GD24 Bui, The Old Hag

The Megalithic Passage Tombs of Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Fourknocks, Loughcrew  are located in County Meath in Ireland. The Boyne Valley Mounds  were built around 3200BC making them older than Stonehenge in England and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.The original Irish name for Knowth is Cnogba. This is the equivalent of Cnoc Buí or Hill of Buí, folklorists believe that Knowth was built over the moon goddess Buí, who In Irish tradition was an earth goddess, and has associations with death.She is credited with making numerous mountains and large hills, which are said to have been formed when she was striding across the land and accidentally dropped rocks from her creel or wicker basket. In other cases she is said to have built the mountains intentionally, to serve as her stepping stones. She carries a hammer for shaping the hills and valleys.The goddess Brìgid  and the Cailleach (Buí) are seen as a seasonal deity or spirit, Buí ruling between Samhain (1 November or first day of winter) and Bealtaine (1 May or first day of summer), while Brìgid rules the summer months. Some interpretations have the Cailleach and Brìgid as two faces of the same goddess, while others describe the Cailleach as turning to stone on Bealtaine and reverting to humanoid form on Samhain in time to rule over the winter months.