The contemporary relevance of our most ancient myths

For a long time, I have been studying, writing about and talking about Irish mythology. During that time, I have tried to relate the importance of mythology as something beyond mere story telling. It appears to me that our myths, no matter how ancient, seem to have a relevance to us even in the present day. In previous works (including my books and blog posts), I have attempted to bring that relevance to bear upon modern life. It can be a difficult thing to do. There's always a danger that people think you're engaging in some sort of new-age mystical "woo", so I tend to be very careful about how I approach the whole area. I have a great enthusiasm for the subject matter.

The Book of the Cailleach.

Recently, on the recommendation of a Facebook friend, I purchased a copy of a book called 'The Book of the Cailleach - Stories of the Wise-Woman healer' by Gearóid Ó Crualaoich. Having seen a number of posts I had written featuring words and pictures about the Loughcrew cairns and the story of the Cailleach who is said to have created them, this follower thought that I would be interested in Ó Crualaoich's book. And they weren't mistaken. So far, I have found it absolutely gripping. It is a comprehensive analysis and discussion of the stories from Ireland's oral traditions about the 'wise woman', the 'hag', the Cailleach, or the 'Red Woman'. These stories have their roots in pre-Christian Ireland.

The book's blurb says that, "In the hands of Gearóid Ó Crualaoich these figures are subtly explored to reveal how they offered a complex understanding of the world, of human psychology and its predicaments. The thematic structure of the book brings to the fore universal themes such as death, marriage, childbirth or healing, and invites the reader to see the contemporary relevance of the stories for themselves."

But it was a review of The Book of the Cailleach - contained on its back cover - that drew my attention. It voices, in ways that I struggle to do, the relevance of these stories to the Ireland - and the world - of today:

"The unearthing of a priceless spirit from forgotten, buried, misunderstood storytelling is like discovering Knowth or Newgrange and opening the doors to those otherworlds. Gearóid Ó Crualaoich's work on the wise-woman healer, the cailleach, is of immense importance, for we need access to the secrets of healing and orientation in life known well in the past but now neglected. Without that secret knowledge we are left with mere rationalism and secularism, which are inadequate for dealing with the challenges of a complex world. This book is highly professional, comprehensive, carefully interpretive, and respectful. It opens up many avenues towards the healing of our own personal lives and our world. It is of special importance to Ireland, but it also addresses the needs of people around the world, who can now look to Ireland for the rediscovery of a special kind of spiritual knowledge connected to the natural world, to place, and to history. This book is so rich in detail and implication that it can be taken by the reader as a personal map to the otherworld and to the forgotten powers of nature and humanity now accessible to him. To women especially it offers an image of strength, wisdom, and healing power. We need this kind of excellent work, visionary as well as academic, all over the world to pull us out of the literalistic and materialistic vision that is limiting us and perhaps even killing us."

That review was by Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and The Soul's Religion.

Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill also sees the relevance of the work to current times. She describes it as a "breathtaking book" and one which resonates quite personally with her:

"It returns to Irish folk material the emotional depth and imaginative meaning which it always contained in its natural context but of which it has often been stripped by the more utilitarian and commonplace interpretations long in fashion. It reminds me once again why I am charmed and enchanted by this material, and more than that, why I regularly find in it answers to the deep-seated obsessions of my own. A real gem of a book, containing an exemplary methodology showing how the Irish folk tradition can be interrogated to find answers which are vitally important to our age and times."

I've spent quite a bit of time at Loughcrew, exploring the monuments and landscape of the Cailleach.

Bringing to bear the meaning of myth has become one of the most appealing aspects of my work. But this wasn't always the case. The reason I began to study the monuments of Brú na Bóinne almost 20 years ago (in reality, I had been studying them since I was a child, when my father brought home George's Eogan's newly published book on Knowth in 1986) was more to do with a belief that astronomy had a greater role in the design and interpretation of these great monuments than was being expounded by the experts. However, having begun serious research with Richard Moore in 1999, I decided just over a year later, on the 16th of March in the year 2000, to establish a website which would discuss aspects of our researches. When it came to choosing a title for this website, I quickly (and without giving it too much thought to be honest) decided to call it Mythical Ireland. Why? I wasn't entirely sure then. Perhaps I acted out of some instinct.

Whatever the reason, over time, myth has become the most important aspect of my work. And that's because, for me, personally, the retelling of our myths has led to revelation. Ní Dhomhnaill is right. The interrogation of our folk and mythic traditions leads to answers which "are vitally important to our age and times".

Some wonderful reviews of 'Land of the Ever-Living Ones'

Now that people have had a chance to read 'Land of the Ever-Living Ones' and to reflect upon its story and its meaning, the book is receiving some fantastic reviews. Here is a selection of those reviews:

Simon W. Kennedy (author of 'The Year the Whales Came In' and 'Sacred Cows, Silent Sheep'):

As the name suggests, this beautiful little book is about the Otherworld of Irish Mythology. To say this is an enchanting book is to understate its charm, but more, especially to understate its intellectual and mystical provenance disguised in dialogue between an older man (the sean-draoi) and the quintessential inquisitive young boy.

One of the great beauties of this work is the lightness with which its wisdom is conveyed and the depth of soul it so simply imparts.  

The ancient Irish of prehistory recounted their explanations of life in antique mnemonic sagas too turgid for those with a passing interest.  In what he describes as his first novella and a departure from the analytical and in-depth, field-researched 'Island of the Setting Sun', which was strident in putting the barriers of intellectual snobbery and archaeological pedanticism aside, in order to open minds to fresher, more imaginative means of consideration and to challenge all comers to consider what was staring them in the face and  those “elite” who considered his observations, too obvious to be considered of any great merit. To their chargin, his analysis of the centrality of alignments of various sites added fresh stimulus to topographical interpretation in line with its soul companion – the mythology of the earth and stars.

In this current endeavour he draws heavily on his encyclopaedic knowledge of the stars and the universe and lays out a tapestry in front of the reader, not unlike what one might have expected of Copernicus and brings to life the ancient lights that illuminate our skies with dimensions of distance, vastness and most tellingly the colour and feel that Irish mythological accounts of the footsteps through the stars of the ancient Irish Gods recounted in these mythological stories. Most inspiringly, he demonstrates, through his conversational motif, and connects, the interaction between the heavenly bodies with those of their observers here in this world, not just then, but breathtakingly, makes it relevant in our times in such a simple poetic style as to be readily and easily consumed by those of an age with his sean-draoi and this attentive pupil to those of any age, in our own time.

In attempting to describe the process it is perhaps easier to do a greater disservice than service to this extraordinary, exquisitely, beautifully presented novella. Its appeal is universal -  and to all ages.  It also costs less than  €10!   If you want to open your mind to the delights and insights of our ancestors who formulated our culture, this "bottle" of pure mystical spring water will refresh your imagination, and resurrect a curiosity within you, of your affinity to your identity and your past.

In our youth all of us will remember some seminal small beautiful book – A Treasury, the Victorians called it  – which found a place in our hearts.  Give this to your child and his or her imagination will be given a key to the door of adventure, and a code to the stars, and our connection with them, that will last. Give yourself a present of space and an hour or two to read and reflect, and like Oisin in Tir n-Og, you will return to this world, reluctantly, but enriched.

Tomas de Faoite (poet):

Land Of The Ever-Living Ones is a treasure trove of great imagery, relating to the heavens and the earth. It brings the earth to the sky, and the earth back down to earth, through the fine-tuned eyes and observations of an old man, in conversation with a boy. It allows the reader to blend it with the voice of the old man.  It makes the universal personal. It transcends the ordinary, yet keeps the simple way. I recommend it highly.  It will bring you to places both familiar, and strange, both firmamental and local. (Read more about Tomas here)

Richard Moore (my co-author on 'Island of the Setting Sun'):

The bludgeoning of the senses by the so called Celtic Tiger years has left a generation of children and young adults with a shallow perspective of what life is about. Brutalised into insensitivity with their natural world. Bred not to think for themselves and to become a machine for base thoughts. Their individual uniqueness is discarded and replaced with homogenous banality.

'Do not think for yourselves' seems to be the mantra for this generation, to make them become depressed and suicidal with no or care or thought for themselves or their children.

Material gains are never satisfied and fulfilment is never reached because they have forgotten how to think for themselves… and more importantly … they have forgotten who they really are .. But this little diamond of a book is the perfect antidote for this sickness that has spread over the land indeed the world. Because it reminds us of our ancestors whose wisdom and understanding of our existence is laid bare as we listen to the old man tell the young boy of his unique and precious place in the cosmos of our lives on this earth. This book is beautifully written, beautifully told … A treasure to behold and pass on…

Michael Fox (on Amazon.com):

A rare and delightful story combining philosophy, spirituality and magic December 14, 2013
By Michael Ray Fox
Format:Kindle Edition

This short novel by author Anthony Murphy introduces the reader to many of the famous ancient Irish landmarks, personalities and stories of Irish antiquity. A old man, a seer with visionary wisdom explains to a inquisitive boy the mysteries of the Irish cosmos. The author takes us to a time when knowledge and learning were passed orally. It was the Celtic learning process of question and answer. We are transported Ireland's Newgrange monument "Brug na Boinne" for a magical, metaphorical journey from the darkness into the sacred light. It was there, that only on the winter solstice, sunshine would illuminate the interior and its art. This luminous excursion into the Irish otherworld is reminiscent of the mystic writer George William Russell (AE) who penned "The Candle of Vision". We are also invited to see our ancestors as a continous wisdom source, a well of knowledge and not a forgotten, dead and gone, memory of the past. This novella of hope will be like my Anam Cara, my soul friend. (See the review here)

Positive review of Newgrange book in Archaeology Ireland

Archaeology Ireland magazine has featured a very positive review of my latest book, 'Newgrange: Monument to Immortality. Here is the text of their review:

Newgrange – Monument to Immortality (The Liffey Press, pb, €24.95) is the title of a new book by journalist, writer, photographer and amateur astronomer Anthony Murphy. Inspired by the scale and symbolism of Newgrange, Murphy expresses his Newgrange story in an engaging text throughout the book. He states, ‘As long as we have questions about Newgrange, we will continue to explore it, and we will carry on trying to quench our thirst for knowledge’.

Readable and interesting, this publication on Newgrange takes us beyond archaeology into some of the more interesting characteristics of the mound that provoke a whole range of reactions from those who get caught in its web of mystique.

Murphy examines the background to the construction of the great mound and passage tomb, with particular emphasis on the community effort and technical skills that would have been required in its construction.

The importance of the celestial movements and the annual cycle of the sun are of particular significance, and several chapters are devoted to this aspect of the tomb’s construction. In subsequent chapters the author explores the ‘womb or tomb?’ theme, drawing attention to the questions concerning the function of such tombs that go beyond burial and disposal of the dead.

Newgrange is still a meaningful place for modern people, who are attracted to its sense of spirituality. Murphy develops this theme further in discussing the accounts of people who have described their own ‘near death experiences’, where lights at the end of tunnels are commonly reported (the metaphor for death is a strong one when seen in this context!).

Subsequent chapters on cave myths and the author’s own experience in the tomb at solstice provide an intriguing juxtaposition of ancient accounts from the past and the modern-day reality of visiting the interior of Newgrange. The book itself is beautifully produced and illustrated throughout with high-quality colour images.

My Nikon D7000 is working a treat

I know this is not entirely related to Mythical Ireland, but my Nikon D7000 will, I hope, be used to capture many nice images for the website and other projects. I wanted to share two images that I took with the camera in the past couple of days. It is a nice piece of kit.

The first is a picture of some houses on the outskirts of Drogheda, overlooking the Boyne river. It was taken at ISO100, with an F stop of about F11, and an exposure of 30 seconds.

The second is this picture of Newgrange, again at ISO100, and F11. The exposures on the D7000 seem to show better detail compared to my D200. In some pictures there is both a bright sky and a bright foreground. Impressive.