“The first figures in Irish History are the pre-historic kings of Emain Macha listed in the Annals of the Four Masters c. 661 B.C. ‘Cimbaeth, son of Fintan, having been seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, after he had been taken to her (as husband) by Macha, died at Emain Macha.  This Cimbaeth was the first king of Emain Macha.’ In early Ireland, centres of tribal power were also religious sites, Sacred and profane, ritual and royal, were intermixed as at Navan” (Navan Centre).

The Navan area was visited throughout the Late Mesolithic period (5500-4500 BC), and may have served as a religious centre for the first settled farmers who are thought to have dug the rampart and ditch of Navan Fort during the Neolithic Period (4500-2500 BC).  Between 2500-1100 BC, Early Bronze Age, there does not appear to be any occupation of Navan or surrounding areas.  Navan is again occupied in the Later Bronze Age (1200-300 BC) when Haughey’s Fort, thought to be a religious site on the hilltop, is constructed (Navan Centre).

Model of Haughey's Fort (700 BC, Later Bronze Age) that once stood at the top of the man-built mound at Emain Macha. The structure of this fort is similar to other Irish Iron Age structures in both material and design.