Tóchar - walking Ireland's ancient pilgrim paths

A short video featuring some extracts from a wonderful new book called 'Tóchar - walking Ireland's ancient pilgrim paths' by Darach MacDonald. Read by Newgrange author Anthony Murphy.

Eclipse of the moon takes place this Friday

Eclipse of the Moon this Week

Penumbral eclipse takes place on Friday night

This Friday, October 18th, the Full Moon will undergo a penumbral lunar eclipse as it passes through the outer region of Earth's shadow.

During this type of eclipse the Moon will darken slightly, and this can be observed without any special equipment.

Unlike a solar eclipse which may last only a few minutes, a lunar eclipse can last hours and is viewable by anyone on the night-side of Earth. The eclipse will begin at 10:50pm when the Moon begins to enter Earth's shadow. By 12:50am (then into Saturday morning) the eclipse will be at its greatest, and almost all of the Moon will be slightly darkened by the shadow. The eclipse ends at 2:49am.

"I’ve seen lots of lunar eclipses over the years and I’ve always found them very fascinating to watch," said David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine. "This Friday is a great opportunity for people all over Ireland to go out and see an eclipse for themselves. The best thing is to look at the Moon before the eclipse starts, so you can see how much darker it gets as the night goes on."

"We want people to send in their observation reports and photos for publication in our magazine. Email them to observe@astronomy.ie," said Mr Moore.

More information about the lunar eclipse can be found at www.astronomy.ie

Anthony Murphy interviewed on Ancient Origins

I have the distinction and pleasure of being the latest guest author to be interviewed for the Ancient Origins website. The interview was conducted by April Holloway and was done via Skype. Have a look at the video above for some insights into Newgrange, including the extraordinary tale recorded there in the mid 20th century relating to an event that was first witnessed at this monument in deep prehistory.

Mythical Ireland given nice mention in Newgrange video

This is a video which was made some time around the year 2000, featuring Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. It features a mention of the work of a certain Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland. I had never seen this before now.

International Space Station to pass in front of moon as viewed from Ireland tonight

Rare space event takes place at 8:54pm

The biggest and most expensive spacecraft ever put into orbit around Earth will pass in front of the Moon as viewed by people along a line from Dublin to Bantry, Co Cork, tonight. See map at bottom of this post.

The International Space Station (ISS)

At 8:54pm (Thursday, October 10th) the International Space Station will rise in the west and blaze through the sky towards the Moon in a spectacular sight. Astronomy Ireland urges everyone to go out and see the spectacle.

"The ISS will almost look as if it will crash into the Moon, but of course this won’t happen, as the Moon is about a thousand times further away than the space station," said David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine. "However, if you imagine a line drawn from Dublin to Bantry Bay in Cork, people along that line – or within 16km either side of it - can look up and see the ISS pass in front of the Moon. This is a very rare event and we want everyone who can to go out and see it!"

"Because this is so rare, we want people to send in their observation reports and photos for publication in our magazine. Email them to observe@astronomy.ie," said Mr Moore.

A map of Ireland showing where people can view the International Space Station pass in front of the Moon can be found below.

The ISS will continue to pass over Ireland every evening until October 26th, and the times it will be visible will be posted online at www.astronomy.ie/iss each afternoon.

Fantastic video of solstice sunlight in Newgrange

I'm amazed that this beautiful video showing the solstice sunlight in the chamber of Newgrange hasn't had more views on YouTube. Currently, it only has 112 views. This is the sort of video that is extremely rare, because it's so difficult to get into Newgrange on the solstice and usually only the press photographers are allowed in, and they don't usually do video. This video puts you right in the chamber, at that special moment. There are some shots closer to the entrance too. Really beautiful stuff. Well worth a look.

Read more about Newgrange here

Two ancient names for Newgrange

Two photos of Newgrange taken last night, on a beautiful October evening, with Ursa Major (The Plough) hanging in the northern sky above the monument. Two of the ancient names of Newgrange are represented, Síd in Broga and Brug Mac Ind Oc. The name Newgrange was given to the monument in the 12th century by the Cistercian order, who had established the nearby Mellifont Abbey and come into ownership of all the lands down to the Boyne. The name the 'New Grange' was given to the field which contained the monument previously known by various names, including the above. That's the name by which we know it today, but it is a relatively modern sobriquet !!!

New blog and Facebook pages for my new novel 'Land of the Ever-Living Ones'

I have set up a Facebook page and a blog page for Land of the Ever-Living Ones. You can see them at the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/landoftheeverlivingones
http://landoftheeverlivingones.blogspot.ie/

In the meantime, above is another wallpaper with a quote from LOTELO. Feel free to share and download.

A quote from Land of the Ever-Living Ones

A quote from the forthcoming Land of the Ever-Living Ones, by Anthony Murphy. Feel free to share.
Read more about the book here: http://www.mythicalireland.com/landoftheeverlivingones/land-of-the-ever-living-ones.html