Let beautiful words flow and let us be stirred greatly to strive for better things

I INVOKE THE SPIRIT OF AMERGIN . . .

I implore that we may regain the land of Erin,
We who have come over the lofty waves,
This land whose mountains are great and extensive,
Whose streams are clear and numerous,
Whose woods abound with various fruit,
Its rivers and waterfalls are large and beautiful,
Its lakes are broad and widely spread,
It abounds with fountains on elevated grounds!
Amergin, leader, poet and figurehead of the Milesians, who came to Ireland, according to myth, in the Bronze Age

TWO BOOKS

When I wrote ‘Island of the Setting Sun’ in 2006, I felt as if I had made an extraordinary trip through time, and that I had connected with a very ancient and profound wisdom. It stirred me so much that I felt as if I was weaving magic with every word that I wrote. On a spiritual and esoteric level, I had retreated into the dark chamber of Newgrange, I had seen a wonderful, brilliant light, I had reconnected with my ancestors, I had conversed with the gods, and I had emerged a changed man. I would like to share that magic with you in two new literary adventures.

I am telling you this in the hope that I can encourage someone to aid me in the publication of these works. I believe that both will have a particular resonance with people in these times of change and uncertainty. I believe that we all need to experience that solstice moment, that bright flash of divine and cosmic brilliance in the dark belly of the earth mound. We all need to re-emerge from the darkness, and reconnect with the deepest and most ancient things.

THE FLOOD AND THE FIRE

One book is provisionally titled, “The Flood and the Fire – the beginning and the end of the world in Irish myth and prophecy”. As the title suggests, this non-fiction work examines the history of humanity and its destiny from a uniquely Irish perspective. It begins by looking at Irish myths and folklore dealing with the supposed flood of Noah, the biblical deluge which was said to have almost obliterated mankind deep in prehistory. Is there evidence, in Ireland’s stories, placenames and written records, that could support the idea of an ancient inundation? As well as looking back, the book looks forward, specifically to the idea of Armageddon or a future apocalypse, and looks at Irish prophecy and legends dealing with the “end times”. Will we be destroyed by conflagration, as the Old Testament says? Is this supported by Irish myths and prophecy? Or will we be destroyed by a great flood which will devastate our ancient isle, as predicted by an Irish saint? And who is the mysterious monk, who chose the location of one of Ireland’s largest monasteries (Mellifont), who predicted the future popes, a prediction which says the current Pope, Benedict XVI, is the second-last Pope? What is the origin of the tale of a strange island in the Atlantic which is said to appear once every seven years? Why is there an abundance of stories in Irish folklore about drowned and sunken cities? And did an ancient Irish druid foresee a nuclear explosion in a terrifying vision? The Flood and the Fire will run to about 80,000 words.

LAND OF THE EVER LIVING ONES

The other book is a novel, called “Land of the Ever Living Ones”, which is a profound and deeply stirring dialogue between a reclusive elder who lives on top of a hill, and a young boy from a nearby village, set in Iron Age Ireland. After encountering the elder on a summer afternoon, the boy becomes captivated by his apparent wisdom. Together, they explore, in moving conversation, many themes which are at the root of humanity and all its beauties and all its tragedies. From their own unique perspectives, the elder and the youngster discuss much of what is eternally mysterious to the human race - where we came from, why we are here, and where we go following death. The dialogue takes the form of simple conversation between two very different, yet two very similar, personalities. One is a wise elder who has lived in solitude on a hilltop for twenty years, choosing a lonely life over the community existence which is cherished by ordinary folk in fragile times. The other is a 12-year-old boy, who lives in a village beneath the great hill. This extraordinary boy shows wisdom and knowledge way beyond his tender years, and the two form a great bond as they journey through some of the great events and happenings of Ireland's remote past - and thus they also discuss the fate of the world and man's place in it in a profound and deeply moving dialogue. Their adventure takes them from the time of the great flood - when everyone was said to have perished in Ireland except one man called Fintan (ironically having the same first name as the young boy, whose name is also Fintan) - through the great stone monuments and wonderful and often magical stories of ancient Ireland, through into the future, of which the elder has had vivid visions during his lonely pilgrimage on the hilltop. The old man teaches the boy about the sacredness of land and nature and animals, and bestows upon him knowledge of the sun, moon and stars, and helps to unravel some of the mystery surrounding death. He discusses the otherworld, the paradise beyond the comprehension of living people, the wonderful place where people go when their earthly life is fulfilled. Gradually it dawns on the boy that he has a very unique fate in the world, and the elder is no ordinary old man. This book will explore themes which I feel will resonate on a profound level with people in today’s troubled world. It will run to about 100,000 words or so.

ABOUT ME

I am a 37-year-old newspaper editor living in Ireland. I have been writing all my life, or pretty much all of it. Ever since I could hold a pencil I was writing. As a kid I was a day dreamer, with my head in the clouds and among the stars, but always with a pen and paper or a typewriter somewhere near at hand. I started writing professionally for newspapers when I was in my teens, and have worked in publishing and journalism now full-time for 18 years. I am the author of a beautiful book about ancient Ireland, along with my good friend Richard Moore, called ‘Island of the Setting Sun – In Search of Ireland’s ancient Astronomers’. This book has been widely acclaimed, and went to second edition after the first edition sold out in a year. I believe I am more than qualified to write more beautiful books, and would dearly love to share some extraordinary literary creations with willing readers. Have a look at what some people have said about Island of the Setting Sun:

Island of the Setting Sun
....is a gentle eye-opener of a rare kind!
What an amazing adventure it is to read this precious book! – Amazon reviewer

A monument – Drogheda Independent

A beautifully written and illustrated publication – Geraldine & Matthew Stout, authors of Newgrange.

A fascinating insight into Ireland’s ancient burial sites – Irish Independent

CONTACT

I am looking for willing partners in bringing these books to the market, whether it be through print, or digitally, or (preferably) both. I have three chapters of each book completed and can supply a synopsis and a chapter plan for both. I have a number of websites, the most successful of which, www.mythicalireland.com, continues to attract 1,500 visitors EVERY DAY and would be an ideal marketing and promotional vehicle for both books. Plus I have extensive media contacts who could help me with reviews and articles about these books. If you’re interested in helping me to publish these exciting new works, I can be contacted by email at mythicalireland@eircom.net or by phone on 00353 (0)89 4392417. I look forward to hearing from you and to the beginning of a great adventure.

A message of hope from the Newgrange chamber on Winter Solstice

Although I have been to Newgrange hundreds of times and despite having written a book about it, I have never had the pleasure of being inside the chamber of Newgrange for Winter Solstice sunrise - until today.
This morning (Sunday December 19th 2010), shortly before 9am, I was one of a lucky group gathered at the 5,200-year-old stone monument awaiting the sun's light. And although somewhat dispersed by cloud cover, we did get to see sunlight in the chamber, and then when the clouds cleared we got lovely intense sunlight in the passage just outside the chamber.

It was a very enjoyable experience and an uplifting and calming one too. The presence of snow in the valley only served to enhance the experience for those of us who were there. Our guide, Leontia, was excellent, informative and friendly. We enjoyed her commentary on the phenomenon and also those moments of calm and quiet which she suggested would help us enjoy the moment all the more.

One of the most poignant aspects of the event for me was the idea that light can shine into the darkest places and although Ireland is going through dark times Newgrange is a symbol of hope for the future.

It has survived for over 5,000 years, reinforcing the idea that the Irish people have been around for a long, long time, and we will be around for a long time into the future as well. Best wishes of the Solstice and Christmas season to all of you and may the light of Newgrange inspire you to hope for a better year in 2011. A special mention for film-maker Grant Wakefield - thanks.

See more photos from the solstice and snow-covered Newgrange and Boyne Valley scenes at www.mythicalireland.com

The Flood and The Fire update

As you might have guessed, The Flood and The Fire has been postponed. I have not done any more writing on the book for the past nine months. My publisher feels that the book market is very depressed and that we should hold off until things pick up. I will keep you updated if there is any change in this situation.

In the meantime, I am working on formulating some other new publishing projects which I will keep you posted about in due course.

Thanks for your patience.

Anthony Murphy

Messianic Myths - The High Man & the Sleeping Army

The above is a "teaser trailer", a short 2-minute video about The High Man, a giant warrior figure in the Irish landscape made up of ancient roads. His discovery at this time, and his location in an area full of myths of heroes and a sleeping army waiting for the final battle, is thought-provoking to say the least. This trailer is designed to give a taster for projects to come - web, music and video - based on The High Man.

The trailer is also being used to introduce the new High Man website which is due to be unveiled shortly.

A new ideology - connecting with the past to benefit the future

Something exciting is happening amidst all the current gloom surrounding the economic state of the world. A new energy is stirring, something ancient is awakening, and we have the opportunity to free ourselves from the entrapment of a belief system which insists that our predicament is dire.

Read enough headlines informing you of doom and gloom and pretty soon you'll begin to believe it all.

But is there another way?

For the past while, I have been trying to "plug in" to cosmic energy. I have come to believe, based largely upon my study of the ancient monuments and myths and landscapes of Ireland, that the people who inhabited this island in far-off times were tuned to the cosmic harmony. In essence, cosmos embodies everything. We are part of it, it is part of us. Cosmos is everyone, everyone is cosmos. The smallest particles, from which everything is derived, including us, are "star dust", the stuff of the cosmos. We are at one with cosmos, and it is at one with us. It's just that most people don't realise it.

A great number of people in the modern age have become detached from the cosmos. We lost our way a good long time ago. We beat a new path through the nettles and have become masters of our own destiny. However, we have threatened our very existence and survival by daring to think that we could achieve independence from the cosmos. We wish to become masters of everything. Perhaps, through the ultimate folly, we have put ourselves above cosmos, something which is impossible. Typical of humanity, we want to become masters of everything.

But what if a situation could exist where we were masters of nothing, arriving at a scenario where we are simply at one with everything? Sounds preposterous, right? Impossible maybe? Ridiculous to contemplate?

In such a scenario, the cosmos then truly becomes part of us, or all of us, because we accept we are cosmos and cosmos is us. Nobody is master of anybody anymore. We simply tune to the frequency of cosmos and enjoy the present moment which seems in the current scenario to be a moment full of dread, fear, procrastination, regret, loathing, and dreaming of happiness which is never found.

During the so-called "Celtic Tiger" years, we abandoned all rationale and all sense of restraint and any connection with our true selves and the cosmos. We decided that crass materialism could fill that "hole in the man" spoken about in the Apocalypto film clip below.

But after a decade or so of squander and greed and all sorts of ridiculous excesses, we've come out the other side with the same hole in our selves. That same seemingly unquenchable thirst within us, the longing for something which we cannot satiate.

The Celtic Tiger ideology is a redundant ideology. Its premises are empty. Its promises unfulfilled. We are lost, wandering along a road whose destination is unclear. Many are depressed. People have fled the church, whose ideology is also largely redundant, mostly because it is an ideology filled with negativity and self-loathing and judgment. Where do we go now?

There is an great awakening occurring in Ireland. A great sense of something wonderful, something very ancient, something cosmic. A new ideology is possible, founded on pure and natural principles. It's not an egotistical principle, nor a creed of leaders and followers, of priests and flock. No, it's something that is within us all, as individuals. It's the power of the cosmos.

The only reason we exist at all is because the cosmos exists. Cosmos is not something "out there" (pointing to sky). It is something "in here" (pointing to chest). Yes, we are it, and it is us. When we die, our bodies will become dust, and in the words of Aivanhov (paraphrased!), even if we could be ground down into the smallest particles, not one of those minuscule particles could be destroyed. Our component parts will continue to exist as long as cosmos continues to exist, and our component parts have existed since cosmos began to exist. Maybe we have existed forever?

I am asking you all to do one thing now, which I am trying to do myself. Think of those billions of cosmic parts of which you are composed as channels. Tune to the cosmic frequency. Call in the cosmic energy. Become one with the cosmos and allow its positive energies to flow through your every constituent part.

Do not, for a moment, think about your negative aspects, or your faults and failures, or your bad qualities. Just accept that you are human, and that humans have their flaws, and come to love yourself for what you are, warts and all.

I spent years under the capture of a different ideology thinking about my faults and failures, loathing myself, and constantly asking for forgiveness for those failures. It was a very negative experience, looking at yourself as something bad.

Another experience is possible. An experience where you look at yourself as fundamentally pure, with some flaws, but concentrating on developing and nurturing the good, and not dwelling on the bad. In that way you can connect with the things for which you were best designed, and exist in better harmony with cosmos.

I am on a journey. It's a fascinating journey, awe-inspiring and deeply moving. It stirs my very soul. I am reconnecting with cosmos, slowly but surely. In doing so, I am reconnecting with all my ancestors, right back to those who walked the earth in the very earliest days. I am metaphorically living their existences, beholding their sights, breathing their air, in order to get a better sense of the timelessness of cosmos and the everlasting nature of existence. It's a fantastic adventure.

I find that the best places to reconnect with cosmic energy are those which are sacred and ancient, and more especially those which have not been spoiled by the "tourist" experience.

Do me a favour this weekend. Find one of those sacred and ancient spots of Ireland, or wherever you live, and take a moment out of your hectic life and just think about being part of something vast and ancient. Let the cosmic energy flow through you. Connect with something pure and timeless. Let go of your preconditions and just ask the cosmos to point you in the right direction. Think of yourself as cosmos and think of cosmos as you. You are it and it is you. You are at one. You need not fear to ask for something from it. You know that you won't ask it for a million euro, or for a new mansion, or for that dream car. You know it doesn't work like that. But you know also there is a way to happiness. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy this beautiful connection with the cosmos. And just ask it to point you in the right direction . . .

Heavenly isle - our sanctuary in the deep

Each of us has a longing to find repose from the troubles and tribulations of the world. We dream of a sunny pasture, or a shaded glen, or a remote wood on the side of a mountain, some haven from the struggles of life. We imagine our own Garden of Eden, where trouble is absent, and where our spirit can find rest. This is an everlasting goal of mankind - to discover this one paradise where we will be removed from strife.

In coming to Ireland, the mythical invaders sought such sanctuary. Cessair, the granddaughter of Noah, thought Ireland would be safe from the coming flood because it was a place where man had not set foot and which would be free from sin and evil and monsters and demons.

The Milesians envisioned a heavenly land and sought to take it from the Tuatha Dé Danann. Their spiritual leader, Amergin, proclaimed Ireland as the "Island of the Setting Sun".

Even the Christian monks of Ireland, who saved the Christian heritage from utter destruction during the Dark Ages, sought refuge in the glens and valleys, along the rivers, on the hills and even on the remote islands of Ireland. Here, while they toiled to copy pre-Christian and Christian manuscripts and epics, they too sought that hideaway, that shelter from distress.

Ireland, too, has its own unique "island paradise" myth - that of the mysterious island in the Atlantic called Hy-Brasil. Supposed to be some sort of Eden-like utopia, shut off from the world of man, it was said to become visible off the coast of Connemara once every seven years. Such an island might actually have existed in reality, for Hy-Brasil can be found on several maps from as early as the 14th Century.

One 17th Century writer said of Hy-Brasil: "Whether it be real and firm land kept hidden by the special ordnance of God, or the terrestrial paradise, or else some illusion of airy clouds appearing on the surface of the sea, or the craft of evil spirits, is more than our judgments can pound out."

This is just a small taste of the material which will be explored in 'The Flood and The Fire - Creation and Apocalypse in Irish Myth and Prophecy' by Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore, to be published by Liffey Press in October 2009.

I am no more and I have nothing left to give

From Mel Gibson's film "Apocalypto":



Old man telling story:

"And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, "We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it." The Man said, "I want to have good sight." The vulture replied, "You shall have mine." The Man said, "I want to be strong." The jaguar said, "You shall be strong like me." Then the Man said, "I long to know the secrets of the earth." The serpent replied, "I will show them to you." And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, "Now the Man knows much, he'll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid." The deer said, "The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop." But the owl replied, "No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, 'I am no more and I have nothing left to give.'"