66Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart. Tara, a Pagan Sanctuary of Ancient Ireland, New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1931, pp. 32-3.

Mairéad Carew explains: "One of the central beliefs of British-Israelism was that the Anglo-Saxon race was descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. To be a British-Israelite, one had to subscribe to this view; however, it was not necessary to leave one's church, and members were encouraged to remain affiliated to their original churches. British-Israelism, therefore, could almost be regarded as an ecumenical group, provided one was Protestant and subscribed to the movement's core belief. The British-Israel movement."
"Their claim that the British monarch was directly descended from the biblical King David through the kings and queens of Tara was, in their own view, 'the only possible interpretation of a good deal of prophecy'. When they came to dig for the Ark of the Covenant at Tara it would have been their understanding that it was their destiny to do so. Therefore, any opposition would have been against God's plan for the descendants of Israel." (Carew, Mairéad. Tara and the Ark of the Covenant: A Search for the Ark of the Covenant by British Israelites on the Hill of Tara (1899-1902). Dublin: Discovery Programme/Royal Irish Academy, 2003, p. 11 and p. 19)