ABSTRACT
In 1898, the followers of an eccentric sect known as the British Israelites tunneled into the tombs of the ancient Irish kings at Tara in what turned out to be a fruitless hunt for the Ark of the Covenant. According to historian Hubert Butler, the story of what the British Israelites had done at Tara was widely known sixty years later, a cautionary tale about the urgency of protecting Ireland’s heritage from the shovels of English fanatics. But when Butler chose to research the incident by consulting an eyewitness—his elderly cousin, Synolda French—he found the story more durable than any of its parts. “Tell me, cousin Synolda,” he ventured, “about the band of British Israelites who excavated the mound at Tara.” “Well, there wasn’t any band,” came the reply, “but just one young student, and he was not a British Israelite and he didn’t excavate the mound.” Apart from that, she assured him, it was all true. 1
