Rossnaree (Irish: Ros na Riogh, meaning "wood of the kings") (Old Irish Ros na Ríg) is a small village in County Meath, Ireland, on the south bank of the River Boyne, near the Brú na Bóinne complex of neolithic monuments on the north bank. It commands a ford that was used by the Williamites at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The walls of the mill at Rosnaree once contained a Sheela na Gig, although this has now been removed for safe keeping. Rossnaree House can be viewed at www.rossnaree.ie[1]
The legendary High King of Ireland Cormac mac Airt is reputedly buried at Rossnaree, having refused to be buried at a pagan site after converting to Christianity.[2] In the Ulster Cycle tale Cath Ruis na Ríg ("the Battle of Rosnaree"), it is the site of a battle between Conchobar mac Nessa, king of the Ulaid, and his son-in-law Cairpre Nia Fer, king of Tara, during which the Ulaid hero Cú Chulainn kills Cairpre with a spear thrown from a distance, and then decapitates him before his body hits the ground.[3]