security patrols have been put in place. Modern history In more recent centuries Loughcrew became the seat of a branch of the Norman-Irish Plunkett family, whose most famous member became the martyred St Oliver Plunkett. The family church stands in the grounds of Loughcrew Gardens. With its barren isolated location, Sliabh na Caillí became a critical meeting point throughout the Penal Laws for Roman Catholics. Even though the woods are now gone an excellent example of a Mass Rock can still be seen on the top of Sliabh na Caillí today. The Plunketts were involved in running the Irish Confederacy of the 1640s and were dispossessed in the Cromwellian Settlement of 1652. Their estate at Loughcrew was assigned by Sir William Petty to the Napier Family c.1655. The Napiers are descended from Sir Robert Napier who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer of Ireland in 1593. The Napiers built an extensive estate of some 180,000 acres (730 km²) in north Meath in the subsequent centuries which mirrored that developed by their neighbouring Cromwellians, the Taylors of Headfort. Following a third and devastating fire, in 1964, the three Napier sons went to court and requested that the state allow the family trust to be broken up and the estate divided between the three sons. Subsequently, the house and gardens have been restored by Charles and Emily Napier, who open the gardens and run an annual opera festival. See also Archaeoastronomy List of archaeoastronomical sites by country List of megalithic monuments in Ireland References External links Loughcrew at Voices from the Dawn Art and astronomy at Loughcrew Loughcrew Information and Images Details of how to obtain access to the interior of Cairn T From http://www.mythicalireland.com A Visit to Loughcrew Megalithic Complex Loughcrew on video Loughcrew Megalithic Centre Loughcrew Estate Loughcrew Adventure Centre Archaeological sites in County Meath Mountains and hills of County Meath National Monuments in County Meath 4th-millennium BC architecture