Perseid meteors to rain down on Ireland this weekend

The skies over Ireland will be lit up this weekend with the best Meteor Shower of the year, with the peak occurring on Monday night. Called the Perseids, they are known for producing more fireballs than any other meteor shower during the year.

A map showing the direction from which the Perseids
will appear to emanate. © Astronomy.

Counting the numbers of meteors seen is vitally important to monitor the long term development of this shower, so Astronomy Ireland is organising a Nationwide Perseid Watch.

All you have to do is count how many meteors you see every 15 minutes and report it on the society’s website (astronomy.ie) where you can also find further details.

No telescopes or binoculars are needed to see the Perseids as they are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye.

"The Moon will be out of the way so it is definitely worth going outside to try to see some bright Perseids," said David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine. "Sometimes large pieces of debris enter the atmosphere and flare up extremely brightly as fireballs - these can often land on the ground! We want everyone to go outside every night over the weekend and take part in our Nationwide Meteor Watch"

Astronomy Ireland urges people to go outside this weekend and next week to observe the meteors to take part in the Nationwide Meteor Watch. By doing so, people all over Ireland can take part in real scientific research!

For more information on the Perseid Meteor Shower and how to take part in the Nationwide Meteor Watch please visit www.astronomy.ie. Some of these reports will then be published in Astronomy Ireland magazine in the coming months.

Magic of Megalithic Ireland tour coming to Newgrange

Read more about the tour on the Megalithomania website

I'm very happy to be giving a talk to the Magic of Megalithic Ireland Tour this month. The tour will be vising Newgrange and Knowth, where I will be giving them some insights into the cosmology and mythology of these wonderful stone age monuments.

The tour is being hosted by Glenn and Cameron Broughton, who have travelled the world investigating ancient sites, and Hugh Newman, who is organiser of the annual Megalithomania conference.

I will be telling this group all about the astronomical alignments of the sites, plus the long alignments with other sites, as well as the links between the mythology of the monuments and the astronomy.

Ever wondered what the inside of Dowth looks like?

This is one of the most interesting and useful videos relating to the Boyne Valley that I've seen in a long time. It's a fly-through tour of Dowth's northern and southern chambers based on laser scanning and gives you a real sense of what it's like inside. The survey work was carried out by David Strange-Walker of Trent & Peak Archaeology and Marcus Abbott of ArcHeritage. Thanks to Dr Steve Davis of University College Dublin, and the Office of Public Works, Ireland, for funding this project.

I was inside Dowth's northern chamber a number of years ago. I visited with a group, and we accessed this chamber through the souterrain, just as shown in this video. The imagery is from real scans, and is therefore incredibly accurate.

Those of you who have visited Dowth for the sunset at winter solstice might be familiar with the interior of the southern chamber, which is the shorter, circular chamber. However, the northern chamber is completely off bounds to the public - at least those who might never get the chance to go inside it can now do so virtually. Fantastic stuff.

The history books really do need re-writing!

I just read my daughter's history book. She's starting secondary school later this month. Under the section about ancient Ireland, I was interested to read about Newgrange. There are no less than two factual errors in the first sentence. First of all, Newgrange is NOT 4,500 years old, as claimed. A cursory web search will reveal that it is, in fact, over 5,000 years old. The second statement is that Newgrange is the "oldest bulding in Europe". What utter nonsense. In fact, its sisters, Knowth and Dowth, are older. But there are far older structures than Newgrange in Europe.

What's most annoying about this is the fact that this is not advanced or specialist knowledge. Admittedly, I have a long-standing interest in Newgrange and know a lot about it. However, you don't need a doctorate to know that Newgrange is over 5,000 years old. Where did the author of this book get this figure of 4,500 years from? And upon what research does he base his claim that it is the oldest building in Europe? If this is what we are teaching our children, and our young adults, about the history of our own country, and we get it wrong, what else are we teaching them that is either factually incorrect or totally incongruous?

I just Googled the question "How old is Newgrange?" and the first result tells me that it was built in 3200BC.

Looks like some of these school books need to be re-written . . .

Glas-Guineach: The remarkable cow that could give an unending supply of milk

Glas-Guineach.—This cow was remarkable for giving a large quantity of milk. She belonged to the monks then residing at Kilmalckedor, was well fed and grazed upon the best patches of sweet pasture in the district. A thief attempted to steal her, but was captured in the act. To make an example of him, his finger prints and the impression of the cow’s hoofs for future reference and to warn the people of the district to be aware of him were cut or set into the stones by some natural art touching finger prints then known to these monks. The stories of the Glas-Guineach are numerous and interesting. Children inclined to steal were reminded of what happened to the thief who stole the monk’s cow.

Foley, Patrick (1916), Irish Historical Allusions, Curious Customs and Superstitions, County of Kerry, Corkaguiny.

This is a slightly different version of the story of the Glas Gablin/Glas Ghoibhneann, related in Island of the Setting Sun. That cow was stolen by Balor, and the story has astronomical implications, which are explored in the book.

New film about honouring the ancient ancestors

This is a short film, made at Dowth, about honouring the ancient ancestors. It is set to the beautiful music of Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, from the album 'Songs of the Scribe'. 

Brigid's Way Celtic Pilgrimage video

Above is a short video, featuring the music 'The Land of Stars' by Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, showing the inaugural Brigid's Way Celtic Pilgrimage from Faughart to Kildare which was launched in July 2013. The pilgrimage was led by Dolores Whelan and Karen Ward, and is based on an alignment of ancient sites discovered by Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore. This alignment, stretching from the sacred well of Brigid at Faughart in County Louth to The Curragh in Kildare.