My new novel 'The Cry of the Sebac' has just been published for Amazon Kindle

It gives me great pleasure to announce that my new novel, 'The Cry of the Sebac', has just been launched on Amazon Kindle.

I am the Sebac Gaoth,
the Hawk on the Wind,
one who has lived beyond memory.
I have listened to the tune of the earth
since before time began
but the music of the world grows sad.

A 12-year-old boy called Fintan meets a mysterious talking bird who claims to have lived forever. The bird, who describes himself as the Sebac Gaoth (the Hawk on the Wind), wants to warn the boy about the danger facing mankind, and to bring him to a fantastic revelation about his own origins and destiny.

The Sebac is a manifestation of ancient wisdom. In the Irish mythic tradition, the hawk appears as a shamanic presence, a voice from the ancient world. The boy represents innocence, but Fintan is about to come of age, and his experiences with the Sebac mark an initiation of sorts, a transition from ordinary mortal to the heroic figure of salvation that mankind desperately needs.

But what can one boy do in the face of such tremendous adversity?

As he journeys through mind and spirit and cosmos, the boy meets several of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Prophecy says they will help man in one final battle against darkness. But the Dananns have their own ideas about who the Samildánach (the Many-Gifted) is, and they want to reveal the one who will shine light into the darkest places and battle to prevent the fall of mankind.

You can purchase the novel on Amazon.com here:
http://www.amazon.com/Cry-Sebac-Anthony-Murphy-ebook/dp/B01DE75Z50/

And on Amazon.co.uk here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cry-Sebac-Anthony-Murphy-ebook/dp/B01DE75Z50/

You might also want to check out my author page on Amazon, and indeed my other books:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001JOY804

Northern lights display over Newgrange and the Boyne

There was a nice is somewhat shortlived display of the aurora borealis (northern lights) over Ireland tonight. I was unable to get out with the camera during the peak of the display, but did get out along the Boyne just in time to capture the aurora before it faded from view. This is the best of my shots, showing the greenish aurora to the right of Newgrange, with the Boyne river and (close foreground) the Boyne canal also in the view. The W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia is in the centre of the view, with Aries and Triangulum about to set over Newgrange. High up to the left is Perseus. Of course these constellations had very different names in ancient Ireland.

How the Tuatha Dé Danann helped the Fianna to defend Ireland against Daire Donn and the world's armies

A bit of reading (and insight) from the story of the Battle of the White Strand, and in particular how the Tuatha Dé Danann help the Fianna in the defence of Ireland against Daire Donn, the High King of the Great World, and all the armies that have gathered off the coast with the aim of taking Ireland.