A brand new version of the Mythical Ireland website was launched on 30th September 2022. In this blog post, curator Anthony Murphy takes us through all its new features.
The website is a new design, using the Shopify platform, but is designed to look like the old website but with significant improvements.
Payments
One of those improvements is that the new site can take many different types of payment, including PayPal. The site also detects what country you are in and will display prices in your local currency. (Note: I am hoping to add Revolut as a payment method soon).
Create an account
You can create an account on the website – handy if you are coming back regularly, and especially for when making purchases. However, it’s not mandatory and you don’t need to create an account to make purchases.To create an account, click on the logo (circled in red) shown below, which can be found at the top right of the menu bar.
Right at home
The home page has a lot of its original elements, including introductions to the Ancient Sites, Myths & Legends and Astronomy & the Sky sections, as well as previews of the latest blog posts. There are also new elements, including links to the 2023 calendar and some of my books. The footer of the website remains the same throughout the site and contains links to a lot of additonal information, including biographical detail, links, contact information, policies and links to the patronage and donation page.
Email subscription
On every page throughout the site there is a form for subcribing to Mythical Ireland emails. All you need to do is enter your email address and click on the arrow. It's that simple! Emails from Mythical Ireland will pertain to new content, special offers, new publications and other information.
Sections
The Ancient Sites, Myths & Legends and Astronomy sections (which by the way have been in place since the very first Mythical Ireland website back in March 2000!) have been given a nice new look.
Shop: books, prints, hand-forged items and more
There are lots of sections to choose from in the shop dropdown menu. You can buy Anthony's books (signed copies), photographic prints, calendars and hand-forged artworks by Tom King 'An Gobha'. Prices are displayed in the currency of your country. Items are shown without postage, which is calculated when you checkout. You can easily select your quantity (if you want more than one item) and if you want to browse the shop you can place items in your basket and continue to browse the website and then go back later and checkout.
Adjust your order quantity by using the + and - buttons.
Mythical Ireland Gift Card
A brand new addition to the website is the ability to purchase a gift card for a friend or family member which can be redeemed against Mythical Ireland publications, gifts and tours.
Comments on blog posts
A completely new innovation is the ability for visitors to Mythical Ireland to leave a comment on blog posts.This was not possible on the old website. All comments are moderated, of course. All of the blog posts from the old website will be added shortly. The blog is the section of the website that will be updated most regularly.
Search the website
A brand new feature is the ability to search the entire website for something in particular. The search facility is available by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the top menu (top right).
The search icon is the magnifying glass shown above.
Donate €10 or more and get a free Knowth PDF poster
You can make a one-off or monthly donation to Mythical Ireland. People who donate €10 or more will receive a free PDF poster of Knowth.
Tours
As well as being available for hire as a private tour guide of Ireland's ancient monuments, I will be hosting regular public tours. Tickets for these can be bought on the new website. I will be adding public tour events soon, so keep checking the tours page for new information.
Contact me
As always, if you have a query relating to the Mythical Ireland website or any of my publications, or you would like to get in touch, I can be contacted via the contact page of the website.
Video guide
On the day of the new website launch I demonstrated all the features of the website in a livestream, which can be viewed on YouTube below.