Anthony Murphy | About

About Anthony Murphy, the curator of Mythical Ireland

In brief:

• Author of ten books about ancient Ireland, non-fiction and fiction
• Discoverer of 'Dronehenge', a Late Neolithic henge near Newgrange
• Scriptwriter and narrator for Lú Festival of Light - Drogheda 2022 & 2023*
• Storyteller for DRAWDA Urban Art Festival mythological murals
• Discoverer of several ancient dugout boats in the river Boyne
• Contributor to TV programmes with National Geographic, History Channel, Discovery Science, Channel 4, BBC, RTÉ and TG4
• Found 300 previously unrecorded monuments using Google Earth and Apple Maps
• 175,000 followers online - Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads, X/Twitter, mailing list, Patreon
• Married with five children and lives in the Boyne Valley

(*Lú Festival of Light won the Best Arts and Culture award at the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) Awards 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland).

Mythical Ireland

Mythical Ireland began life on 16th March 2000 as a website, initially hosted on the free hosting platform Geocities. After a year or so, it became www.mythicalireland.com. Mythical Ireland is an entirely independent entity devoted to promoting ancient Irish archaeology, mythology and folklore, astronomical alignments and much more. In 2023, I left my 31-year career as a newspaper journalist to pursue Mythical Ireland as a full-time vocation. In addition to running the website, I published 10 books, I do a weekly livestream 'Live Irish Myths' (since the pandemic began in March 2020), I lead public and private tours of Irish heritage sites and their associated myths and legends, and make regular appearances in broadcast and print media. I also publish a podcast. My work is ENTIRELY funded by what I call the 'Mythical Ireland Community', people who have a love of Irish prehistory and mythology. Through buying my books and limited edition prints, and monthy patronage on Patreon, they are mainly responsible for sustaining the Mythical Ireland project, which does not receive any State or public funding.

Anthony Murphy examines 5,000-year-old megalithic art in Fourknocks.

I am the author of ten books, including the acclaimed Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland’s Ancient Astronomers (with Richard Moore), Newgrange: Monument to Immortality, Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past and Dronehenge: The Story Behind the Remarkable Discovery at Newgrange. His works of fiction are a novella called Land of the Ever-Living Ones and a short novel called The Cry of the Sebac.

I worked in the newspaper industry for 31 years, beginning as a reporter and later Design Editor with the Drogheda Independent, where I spent 10 years. I later became Editor of the Drogheda Leader newspaper, and went on to become Editor of the Dundalk Democrat. Latterly, I was a sub editor and graphic designer with the Irish Farmers Journal.

I live in Drogheda with my wife Ann and our five children. An accomplished photographer, my work is well-known not just through my books but also the Mythical Ireland website and through my presence on social media. In addition to being a writer and photographer, I play principal euphonium with Drogheda Brass Band, the most successful brass band on the island of Ireland. I was for several years the conductor of Drogheda Youth Brass Band. I am also a licenced radio amateur (with the call sign EI2KC) and am proficient at sending and receiving morse code, a skill that is dying out as newer modes of communication have replaced the older ones.

I have appeared many times on television as an expert on Newgrange and the monuments and indeed astronomy, and have featured in newspaper, magazine and news media articles around the world. I have broadcast on The History Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Science, Channel 4, RTÉ and others.

I regularly give talks about my research and also lead private tours of the monuments. I am a member of the Independent Tour Guides Association. I have lectured all over Ireland, and in Britain and the US. I delivered a lecture in November 2019 at Princeton University, New Jersey, as part of the Fund for Irish Studies series, at the invitation of Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Professor Paul Muldoon.

Discoveries

My first discovery was made in 1999 with friends Richard Moore and Michael Byrne, when we revealed a winter solstice sunrise alignment at the standing stones in Baltray, overlooking the Boyne estuary. In July 2018, there was some international fame when I discovered a previously unknown late Neolithic henge or ceremonial enclosure 750m from the world famous megalithic monument of Newgrange. Read more about the discovery here: https://mythicalireland.com/blogs/news/the-new-henge-of-newgrange-the-moment-of-discovery-recalled

I was in the company of fellow photographer and friend Ken Williams when the discovery was made. We made international headlines, and 'Dronehenge' (as that monument became known) been featured on television on Channel 4, Discovery Science and National Geographic. An aerial survey of Brú na Bóinne by the National Monuments Service three days after the discovery has revealed that the sites and features we discovered are part of a huge ritual landscape, and the discoveries will be studied and researched by archaeologists and scientists for decades to come.

Award

In January 2019, I was honoured by the Mayor of his home town, Drogheda, with a Mayoral Award, which was presented in recognition of my work as a writer, journalist, photographer, public speaker, musician, mythology enthusiast and researcher.

Born in Drogheda, I grew up overlooking the river Boyne in the ancient medieval town. I became interested in astronomy at an early age, a lifelong love that was to lead towards researching the ancient monuments of the Boyne Valley, an exploration that began in January of 1999 with local artist Richard Moore. At the age of just 12, I wrote a monthly astronomy column for my local newspaper, the Drogheda Independent – my first foray into journalism! The monuments had long held a fascination for me. On a school tour in primary school, I saw Newgrange and Dowth up close for the first time and was captivated. News headlines were being made every year during the archaeological excavations at Knowth, and I followed the news with great interest. I developed a keen interest in the mythology and legends of the Boyne monuments, and indeed the wider mythological story of Ireland, thanks mainly to the encouragement of Richard Moore.

I am generally working on writing and publishing further books, having published ten. Often asked where I get time to work full-time, write books, run Mythical Ireland, take photos, play in a brass band, participate in amateur radio contests and all the other things I do, I point out that none of this would be possible without the support of my longsuffering wife Ann and our five children!