Following the publication by Wordwell of reports on Seán P. Ó Ríordáin's excavations at the Mound of the Hostages (Muiris O'Sullivan 2005) and Rath of the Synods (Eoin Grogan 2008), the University College Dublin School of Archaeology, in association with the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies, hosted a symposium entitled Tara - From the Past to the Future. Featuring approximately forty papers by an international group of scholars, the symposium was one the most extensive reviews of the archaeology of Tara undertaken to date. It focused on the data from the two excavation volumes but extended to a wider consideration of research undertaken at Tara over the past twenty years.
     Themes included: The archaeology of Tara (Papers subjecting particular aspects of the archaeology of Tara to detailed scrutiny - Underlying question: What more can be mined from the archaeological data?); Tara in its local and regional setting (Contributions examining the locality around Tara and exploring how Tara interacted with its surroundings at various times in the past - Underlying question: What was the settlement history of the landscape around the Hill of Tara?); Comparative perspectives on Tara (A variety of speakers examining Tara from the perspective of other iconic places such as Stonehenge and Carnac - Underlying question: What is the international perspective on Tara?) and The significance of Tara through time (Addressing the distinctive qualities that have set Tara apart from ancient times to the present - Underlying question: What dynamics have influenced the emergence of the Tara phenomenon?).
     The Symposium has been streamed live on the Web.

Sources: National Museum of Ireland, Newgrange.com (October 2009), Examiner.com (24 October 2009)